College  Latin  Series 


Platner's 
and  Monuments 

of 


Allyn  and  Baeon 


Boston  &Chica;;: 


KYLE  MEREDITH  PHILLIPS  JR. 


ANCIENT  ROME 

Places  and  buildings  in  red  date  from  the 
republic. 


METRES 


6    100  200  300  400  500  1000 

PEDES  ROMAN!  ANTIQUI 
6       600     1000   1600    2000    2600    3000 


ALLYN    AND    BACON'S   COLLEGE   LATIN    SERIES 

THE 
TOPOGRAPHY  AND  MONUMENTS  OF 

ANCIENT  ROME 


WESTERN    RESERVE    UNIVERSITY 


SECOND  EDITION 
REVISED  AND  ENLARGED 


Boston 

ALLYN    AND    BACON 
1911 


COPYRIGHT,    1904  AND    1911, 
BY  SAMUEL   BALL   PLATNER. 


XortoooD 

,1.  8.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


CHRISTIANO    HVELSENO 

TOPOGRAPHIAE  VRBIS   ROMAE   ANTIQVAE 

MAGISTRO  PERITISSIMO 

S. 


PREFACE. 

WHILE  the  actual  excavations  in  Rome  during  the  past  six 
years  have  not  been  so  important  as  those  of  the  preceding 
five,  the  study  of  their  results  has  been  continuous  and  fruit- 
ful, so  that  it  has  seemed  best  to  issue  a  revised  edition  of 
this  manual  which  should  be,  so  far  as  possible,  brought 
down  to  date. 

It  is  especially  unfortunate  that  the  official  reports  of  much 
of  the  work  done  in  the  Forum  have  not  yet  appeared,  so  that 
many  essential  facts  are  still  unknown ;  and  that  the  excava- 
tions on  the  Palatine'  have  lagged  so  sadly.  The  partial  exca- 
vations of  1906-1908,  and  some  new  investigations  based  on 
them  that  have  recently  been  undertaken,  may,  when  com- 
pleted, revolutionize  some  of  the  accepted  views  about  the 
history  and  topography  of  that  hill. 

The  most  important  contribution  to  the  topography  of  Home 
since  1904  has  been  the  publication  of  the  third  part  of  the 
first  volume  of  Jordan's  Topographic  der  Stadt  Rom,  written 
by  Professor  Hiilsen,  to  whom  I  wish  to  acknowledge  again 
my  deep  obligations ;  the  minor  literature  on  the  subject  has 
increased  so  greatly  that  the  references  in  this  edition  are 
considerably  more  numerous  than  in  the  first.  This  increase 
seems  both  justifiable  and  desirable,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
Professor  Htilsen  intends  to  issue  a  new  edition  of  his  Nomen- 
clator  Urbis  Romae  before  long.  Some  of  the  categorical  state- 
ments of  the  first  edition  have  been  modified,  and  errors 
corrected  so  far  as  discovered.  In  general,  reference  is  made 
to  views  in  conflict  with  those  stated  in  the  text.  . 

Besides  the  acknowledgments  made  in  the  preface  to  the 
first  edition,  I  wish  to  express  my  indebtedness  to  Comm.  G. 
T.  Rivoira  for  information  concerning  the  temple  of  Venus 
and  Roma,  and  for  the  use  of  one  of  his  own  illustrations ;  to 
Dr.  Esther  B.  Van  Deman  for  many  valuable  suggestions  and 
criticisms  in  general,  and  in  particular  for  the  material  con- 
tained in  her  work  on  the  Atrium  Vestae;  and  to  He  IT 
Baedeker  of  Leipzig  for  permission  to  use  his  latest  map  of 
the  Forum. 

S.  B.  P. 

CLEVELAND,  July,  1911. 


FROM  THE   PREFACE   TO   THE   FIRST 
EDITION. 

THIS  book  is  intended  to  serve  as  an  introduction  to  the 
study  of  the  topography  of  ancient  Rome  for  students  of 
Roman  antiquities  and  history,  and  incidentally  as  a  book 
of  reference  for  those  who  have  any  special  interest  in  the 
monuments  which  still  remain.  It  contains  an  outline  of 
the  successive  stages  in  the  growth  of  the  city,  a  discussion 
of  the  topography  of  each  region  and  the  position  of  its  build- 
ings so  far  as  this  is  known,  and  a  somewhat  detailed  descrip- 
tion of  the  more  important  structures. 

To  facilitate  further  study,  references  of  two  classes  have 
been  added:  first,  to  the  sources  of  information  in  ancient 
literature  and  inscriptions,  and  second,  to  the  most  important 
material  in  current  periodicals  and  the  standard  works  ou 
topography. 

This  handbook  makes  no  claim  to  exhaustiveness  or  origi- 
nality ;  it  is  only  a  compilation  from  various  soxirces,  which, 
it  is  hoped,  will  form  a  useful  addition  to  the  working  library 
of  the  student  of  Roman  antiquities.  It  will  be  evident  at 
once  to  those  who  know  the  literature  of  the  subject  that  I 
have  drawn  continually  upon  the  labors  of  others,  especially 
upon  Richter,  —  whose  Topographie  der  Stadt  Rom  has  been 
practically  the  basis  of  the  present  work,  —  Lanciani,  Hulsen, 
Jordan,  Gilbert,  Borsari,  Boni,  and  Ashby.  As  it  is  mani- 
festly impossible  to  indicate  in  each  case  the  precise  amount 
and  kind  of  indebtedness,  I  trust  that  I  may  be  regarded  as 
having  discharged  my  duty  by  this  general  acknowledgment 
of  obligation.  I  desire,  however,  to  express  my  special  grati- 
tude to  that  master  of  Roman  topography,  Professor  Christian 
Hulsen  of  the  German  Archaeological  Institute,  whose  discus- 
sions of  the  subject  during  the  past  fifteen  years  have  been 
definitive  in  almost  every  case,  and  whose  generosity  in  the 
present  instance  has  been  most  marked. 


FROM  THE   PREFACE   TO  THE   FIRST   EDITION.         vii 

In  explanation  of  the  usage  adopted  in  this  book  with  respect 
to  capitals  and  small  letters,  attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that 
in  the  Latin  names  of  places  and  monuments  such  ordinary 
words  as  via,  domus,  pons,  porta,  hortus,  templum,  etc.,  occur 
with  great  frequency,  and  that  it  is  very  undesirable  to  write 
them  everywhere  with  capitals.  Therefore,  in  the  interest 
of  consistency,  these  words  are  written  regularly  with  small 
letters,  and  the  distinguishing  attributive  words  usually  with 
capitals,  as  Sacra  via,  domus  Augustana.  Certain  names, 
which  have  become  identified  in  modern  usage  with  one  place 
or  building,  are  written  with  capitals  to  distinguish  them 
from  others  of  the  same  class,  as  the  Forum,  the  Rostra,  the 
Curia.  In  view  of  its  prevalence  in  ordinary  use,  the  ex- 
pression "  Aurelian  wall "  has  been  adopted,  although,  strictly 
speaking,  it  is  incorrect. 

It  has  also  been  found  convenient  in  many  cases  to  describe 
the  location  of  some  monument  or  place  in  ancient  Rome  by 
later  or  even  modern  topographical  references,  in  spite  of  the 
somewhat  violent  anachronisms  involved. 

My  thanks  are  due  to  Professors  Hiilsen  and  Richter,  to 
the  C.  H.  Beck  Publishing  Company  of  Munich,  and  to  Messrs. 
Adam  and  Charles  Black  of  London,  for  permission  to  use 
illustrative  material. 

In  conclusion  I  wish  to  acknowledge  ray  special  obligations 
to  the  editor-in-chief  of  this  Series,  Professor  John  C.  Kolfe 
of ,  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  to  Professor  Grant 
Showerman  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  both  of  whom 
have  read  all  the  proof  and  have  made  many  helpful  criticisms 
and  suggestions.  They  are,  however,  in  no  way  responsible 
for  any  errors  either  of  fact  or  of  citation. 

S.  B.  P. 
CLEVELAND,  April,  1904. 


CONTENTS. 


LIST  OF  MAPS  AND  PLANS 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS     .         .         . 

LIST  OF  ABBREVIATED  TITLES  USED  IN  FOOTNOTES 


PAGE 

ix 

X 

xiii 


I.  SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION  .......  1 

II.  GENERAL  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ROME  AND  THE  CAMPAGNA     .  11 

III.  BUILDING  MATERIALS  AND  METHODS          ....  22 

IV.  HISTORY  OF  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  CITY  ...  32 
V.  THE  TIBER  AND  ITS  BRIDGES     ......  75 

VI.  AQUEDUCTS  AND  SEWERS    .......  90 

VII.     WALLS,  GATES,  AND  ROADS 110 

VIII.     THE  PALATINE  HILL 129 

IX.     THE  FORUM 167 

X.  THE  IMPERIAL  FORA  ........  274 

XI.     THE  CAPITOLINE  HILL 291 

XII.     THE  SACRA  VIA  AND  THE  VELIA 309 

XIII.  THE  CAMPUS  MARTIUS 339 

XIV.  THE  DISTRICT  BETWEEN  THE  FORUM,  THE  TIBER,  AND 

THE  CIRCUS  MAXIMUS.     REGIONS  VIII  AND  XI  .         .  393 

XV.  THE  AVENTINE.     REGIONS  XII  AND  XIII          .         .         .412 

XVI.     THE  CAELIAN.     REGIONS  I  AND  II 428 

XVII.  THE  ESQUILINE.     REGIONS  III,  IV,  AND  V       .         .         .444 

XVIII.  THE  VIA  LATA  AND  THE  PINCIAN  HILL.     REGION  VII    .  475 

XIX.  THE  QUIRINAL  AND  THE  VIMINAL.     REGION  VI       .         .  484 

XX.  THE  TRANSTIBEKINE  DISTRICT.     REGION  XIV  .         .         .  507 

INDEX 521 

viii 


MAPS   AND   PLANS. 

\ 

Ancient  Rome      .      Hulsen,  Eomae  Veteris  Tabula,  Berlin,  1901, 

with  slight  changes     .        Frontispiece 

PAGE 

The  Successive  Stages  in  the  Growth  of  the  City      .... 

Hulsen,  Eomae  Veteris  Tabula.     Facing      59 

Plan  of  the  Palatine,  Fig.  17    Eichter,  Topographic  der  Stadt  Rom, 

icith  changes.     Following    128 

Plan  of  the  Forum  of  the  Republic,  Fig.  22     Eichter,  Topographic. 

Facing    169 

Plan  of  the  Forum  of  the  Empire,  Fig.  23  Baedeker's  Central 

Italy.    Following    172 
Plan  of  the  Imperial  Fora,  Fig.  59     Eichter,  Topographic.    Facing    275 

Map  of  the  Capitoline,  Fig.  62  ...        Hulsen.    Facing    292 

Modern  Rome   .        ....        .        .        .          Following    538 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FIG.  PAGE 

1.  Fragments  of  the  Marble  Plan  .     Jordan,  Forma  Urbis  Romae  3 

2.  The  Haterii  Relief      .        .  •       .    '     .        .        .        Photograph  7 

3.  Methods  of  Construction Photograph  28 

4.  The  Septimontium      .        Bichter,  Topographic  der  Stadt  Rom  39 

5.  The  City  of  the  Four  Regions    .         .         Bichter,  Topographic  42 

6.  The  (so-called)  Servian  City      .         .         Bichter,  Topographic  46 

7.  Map  showing  the  Terminal  Stones  of  the  Pomerium  and  Customs- 

barrier         .         .      Hulsen,  Bomische  Mittheilungen;  1897  61 

8.  The  Insula  Tiberina  .        .        .     Besnier,  L'lle  Tiberine  dans 

V  Antiquite,  Paris,  1902  84 

9.  Arches  of  the  Claudia  and  Anio  Novus      .        .        Photograph  100 

10.  The  Junction  of  Seven  Aqueducts  at  the  Porta  Praenestina 

Photograph  101 

11.  The  Latest  Course  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima 

Bichter,  Topographic  108 

12.  The  Wall  of  Servius,  on  the  Aventine       .        .         Photograph  113 

13.  The  Wall  of  Servius,  on  the  Quirinal          .        .        Photograph  114 

14.  The  Wall  of  Aurelian,  near  the  Sessorium         .        Photograph  1 18 

15.  The  Wall  of  Aurelian,  near  the  Porta  Pinciana         Photograph  119 

16.  The  Porta  Praenestina Photograph  122 

18.  Plan  of  the  Domus  Liviae  .         Haugwitz,  Der  Palatin,  Borne, 

1901  (after  Parker)  135 

19.  The  Area  Palatina  restored        .        .        .         Hulsen-  Tognetti  145 

20.  The  Domus  Flavia  restored        .        .        .         Hulsen-Tognctti  151 

21.  The  Northwest  Corner  of  the  Palatine       .        .        Photograph  160 

24.  The  Porticus  Deorum  Consentium     •        .        .        Photograph  177 

25.  The  Temple  of  Castor Photograph  181 

26.  The  Temple  of  Castor  restored  .        .         Bichter,  Topographic  182 

27.  The  Altar  of  Caesar Photograph  184 

28.  The  Temple  of  Caesar  restored  .        Bichter- Schulze,  Jahrbuch 

des  Institute,  1889  185 

29.  The  Regia  and  the  Temple  of  Antoninus  and  Faustina 

Photograph  187 

30.  The  Ancient  Necropolis  on  the  Sacra  Via 

Hulsen- Carter,  The  Roman  Forum  189 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  xi 

FIO.  PAGE 

81.    The  Temple  of  Janus        .  Cohen,  Monnaies  frappees  sous 

V Empire,  Nero,  No.  141  191 

32.  Plan  of  the  Basilica  Aemilia       .        .      Hiilsen,  Romische  Mit- 

theilungen, 1902  195 

33.  Architectural  Fragments  from  the  Basilica  Aemilia    Photograph  197 

34.  The  Podium  of  the  Temple  of  Vesta     Noiizie  degli  Scavi,  1900  201 

35.  The  Peribolus  of  the  Temple  of  Vesta    Notizie  degli  Scavi,  1900  202 

36.  Plan  of  the  Temple  of  Vesta      .           Notizie  degli  Scavi,  1900  203 

37.  Plan  of  the  Atrium  Vestae         .      Van  Deman,  Atrium  Vestae  205 

38.  Plan  of  the  Regia       .        .        Hillsen-  Tognetti,  Romische  Mit- 

theilungen,  1902  212 

39.  The  Regia  restored     .        .          Hillsen- Schulze,  Jahrbuch  des 

Institute,  1899  213 

40.  Plan  of  the  Precinct  of  Juturna  and  the  Augusteum 

Hiilsen- Tognetti,  Romische  Mittheilungen,  1902  215 

41.  The  Precinct  of  Juturna    .        .           Notizie  degli  Scavi,  1901  217 

42.  The  Lacus  luturnae   ......        Photograph  218 

43.  The  Relief  of  the  Rostra,  from  the  Arch  of  Constantine    . 

Middleton,  Remains  of  Ancient  Rome,  vol.  I  221 

44.  The  Front  of  the  Rostra  restored        Richter- Schulze,  Jahrbuch 

des  Instituts,  1899 ;  Topographie  222 

45.  The  Rear  of  the  Rostra  restored        .        .        Hillsen-Tognetti  223 

46.  Plan  of  the  Rostra  and  Surrounding  Structures 

Hiilsen,  Romische  Mittheilungen,  1902  224 

47.  The  Substructures  of  the  Clivus  Capitolinus       .         Photograph  227 

48.  The  Comitium  as  recently  excavated         .         Hiilsen-  Tognetti  234 

49.  Section  of  the  Comitium             .           Notizie  degli  Scavi,  1900  235 

50.  Shallow  Pit,  and  Vault  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima  .         Photograph  238 

51.  The  Curia  and  Comitium  .....        Photograph  240 

62.  The  Lapis  Niger Photograph  242 

63.  The  Archaic  Structures  under  the  Lapis  Niger  .... 

Bullettino  Comunale,  1903  243 

54.  The  Cippus  and  Inscription      Comparetti,  U  Iscrizione  Arcaica 

del  Foro  Romano  245 

55.  Plan  and  Section  of  the  Career,  with  changes      Middleton,  Re- 

mains of  Ancient  Rome,  vol.  I  252 

56.  The  Arch  of  Septimius  Severus          .        .         .        Photograph  255 

57.  Plan  of  Area  of  the  Forum         ....   Hulsen-Carter  259 

58.  The  Marble  Plutei      ...        .        .        .        .        Photograph  265 

59  a.    The  Forum  of  Augustus  restored    .         .         Hulsen-Tognetti  277 

60.  The  Forum  of  Augustus     .         .                 .         .         Photograph  278 

61.  The  Column  of  Trajan Photograph  288 


xii  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FIG.  PAGE 

62  a.   West  End  of  Forum  and  Capitolium  restored          .     Tognetti  293 

63.  The  Pavement  of  the  Sacra  Via         .        .        .        Photograph  .°>10 

64.  The  Sacra  Via    ....        Bullettino  Comunale,  1903  311 

65.  Plan  of  the  Temple  of  Venus  and  Roma    .         .     G.  L.  Rivoira  317 

66.  The  Arch  of  Titus Photograph  320 

67.  The  Arch  of  Constantine   .      Narducci,  Sulla  Fognatura  della 

Citta  di  Roma,  with  changes  321 

68.  The  Interior  of  the  Colosseum   ....         Photograph  326 

69.  Sectional  Plan  of  the  Colosseum      Kna-pp,  in  Beschreibung  der 

Stadt  Horn,  Bilderheft  327 

70.  The  Colosseum Photograph  328 

71.  Section  of  the  Colosseum  .     Knapp,  in  Beschreibung  der 'Stadt 

Horn,  Bilderheft  330 

72.  Plan  of  the  Pantheon          .         Lanciani,  Forma  Urbis  Romae  353 

73.  The  Pantheon     .         .         .         .     ~*  .         .         .         Photograph  354 

74.  The  Interior  of  the  Pantheon     .         .         .         .         Photograph  356 
76.    The  Hadrianeum      %  .         .         .         .         .         .         Photograph  361 

76.  The  Porticus  Octaviae  restored  .         .         .         Photograph  372 

77.  The  Saepta  lulia         .         .         Lanciani,  Forma  Urbis  Romae  385 

78.  Plan  of  the  Three  Temples  beneath  S.  Nicola  in  Carcere  . 

Lanciani,  Forma  Urbis  Romae  391 

79.  S.  Maria  Egiziaca       ......         Photograph  399 

80.  S.  Maria  del  Sole Photograph  400 

81.  Plan  of  the  Statio  Annonae         Lanciani,  Forma  Urbis  Roma#  402 

82.  Plan  of  the  Circus  Maximus       .          Pauly,  Real-Encyclopadie  407 

83.  The  Horrea  Galbiana          .          Lanciani,  Forma  Urbis  Romae  418 

84.  Ruins  of  the  Baths  of  Caracalla          .         .         .         Photograph  423 

85.  Plan  of  the  Baths  of  Caracalla     Kiepert-Hulsen,  Formae  Urbis 

Romae  Antiquae  426 

86.  Columbarium  in  the  Vigna  Codini     .         .         .        Photograph  437 

87.  Plan  of  the  Baths  of  Titus  and  Trajan        Richter,  Topographic 

(after  Lanciani}  454 

88.  The  so-called  Auditorium  of  Maecenas      .         .        Photograph  465 

89.  Remains  of  the  Amphitheatrum  Castrense         .         Photograph  471 

90.  Plan  of  the  Baths  of  Diocletian    Kiepert-Hulsen,  Formae  Urbis 

Romae  Antiquae  495 

91.  Plan  of  the  Baths  of  Constantine 

Lanciani,  Forma  Urbis  Romae  498 

92.  The  Castle  of  S.  Angelo Photograph  517 

93.  The  Mausoleum  of  Hadrian  restored       Schulze,  Rdmische  Mit- 

theilungen,  1891  519 


ABBREVIATED  TITLES  USED  IN  FOOTNOTES. 

AJA American  Journal  of  Archaeology,  First  Series, 

1885-1896  ;  Second  Series,  1897-. 

AJP. American  Journal  of  Philology,  1880-. 

Altmann,  Bundbauten    W.  Altmann,  Die  Italischen  Bundbauten,  Berlin, 

1906. 
Ann.  d.  1st Annali  delV  Istituto  di  Corrispondenza  Archeo- 

logica,  Rome,  1829-1885. 
Antike  Denkmdler      .    Antike  Denkmaler  herausg.  vom  kais.  Deutschen 

Archaologischen  Institut,  Berlin,  1887-. 
Arch.  Am Archaologischer  Anzeiger ;  Beiblatt  zum  Jahr- 

buch   des   Archaologischen   Instituts.   Berlin, 

1889-. 
Atti Atti   del    Congresso   Internazionale   di   Scienze 

Storiche,  vol.  v,  Rbrne,  1904. 
Babelon,  Monnaies     .     E.   Babelon,    Monnaies  de   la  Bepublique  Bo- 

maine,  2d  ed.,  2  vols.,  Paris,  1885-1886. 
BC. Bullettino     della     Commissione     Archeologica 

Comunale  di  Boma,   Rome,  1872-. 

Bull.  Crist Bullettino  di  Archeologia  Cristiana,  Rome,  1863-. 

Bull.  d.  1st Bullettino  delV  Istituto  di  Corrispondenza  Ar- 
cheologica, Rome,  1829-1885. 
Chronogr.  a.  354    .     .     Chronographus  anni  354,  in  :  Monumenta  Ger- 

maniae  Auctorum  Antiquissimorum,  vol.  ix., 

2d  ed.  (Mommsen),  pp.  143-148,  Berlin,  1892. 

GIL Corpus  Inscriptionum  Latinarum,  Berlin,  1863-. 

Cohen H.  Cohen,  Monnaies  Frappees  sous  I' Empire,  2d 

ed.,  8  vols.,  Paris,  1880-1892. 
Cohen,  Med  Cons.       .     Cohen,   Monnaies  de  la  Bepublique  Bomaine, 

communemcnt  appelees  Medailles  Consulaires, 

Paris,  1857. 

CP. Classical  Philology,  Chicago,  1906-. 

CQ The  Classical  Quarterly,  London,  1907-. 

CB The  Classical  Review,  London,  1887-. 

EE. Ephemeris  Epigraphica,  Berlin,  1872-. 

GA .     Gazette  Archeologique,  Paris,  1875-1889. 

Gilbert O.  Gilbert,  Geschichte  und  Topographic  der  Stadt 

Bom  im  Altertum,  3  vols.,  Leipzig,  1883-1890. 
Hiilsen-Carter    .     .     .     Ch.    Hiilsen,    The  Roman   Forum.     Translated 

from   the   second    German    edition   by  Jesse 

Benedict  Carter,  Rome,  1906. 
xiii 


xiv  ABBREVIATED    TITLES. 

Jahrb.  d.  Inst.   .     .     .     Jahrbuch  des  kais.  Deutschen  Archdologischen 

Instituts,  Berlin,  1886-. 
JJ. Neue  JahrMicher  fur  Philologie  und  Pddagogik, 

Leipzig,  1826-. 
Jordan H.  Jordan,  Topographic  der  Stadt  Bom  im  Alter- 

thum,  vols.  I.  1.  2.  II.,  Berlin,  1871-1885 ;  vol. 

I.  3,  written  by  Ch.  Hulsen,  1906. 
Jordan,  FUR.    .     .     .     H.  Jordan,  Forma  Urbis  Romae  Eegionum  XIV, 

Berlin,  1874. 

Lanciani,  Ruins     .     .    R.  Lanciani,  Tjke  Ruins  and  Excavations  of  An- 
cient Rome,  London,  1897. 
Melanges £lcole  Franqaise  de  Rome.    Melanges  d'Arche- 

ologie  et  d'1  Histoire,  Rome,  1881-. 
Mem.  d.  Lincei  .     .     .     Memorie  della  Classe  di  Scienze  Morali,  Storiche 

e  Filologiche  della  R.  Accademia  dei  Lincei, 

SeY.  III.,  1877-1884. 
Middleton      ....     J.  H.  Middleton,  The  Remains  of  Ancient  Rome, 

2  vols.,  London,  1892. 

Mitt Mittheilungen  des   kais.   Deutschen  Archdolog- 
ischen Instituts  ;  Romische  Abtheilung,  Rome, 

1886-. 
Mon.  d.  Lincei  .     .     .     Monumenti  Antichi  pubblicati  per  cura  della  R. 

Accademia  dei  Lincei,  Milan,  1890-. 
Mon.  Ined Monumenti  Antichi  Inediti,  pubblicati  daW  Isti- 

tuto  di  Corrispondenza  Archeologica,  vols.  I- 

VI,  Rome,  1829-1857. 
NS. Notizie  degli  Scavi  di  Antichita  comunicate  alia 

R.  Accademia  dei  Lincei,  Rome  and  Milan, 

1876-. 
Pais,  Legends     .    .     .     E.  Pais,  Ancient  Legends  of  Roman  History, 

New  York,  1905. 
PBS. Papers  of  the  British  School  at  Rome,  London, 

1902-. 
RhM. Rheinisches  Museum  fur  Philologie,  Neue  Folge, 

Frankfurt,  1842-. 
Richter,  BR  T.  .     .     .     O.  Richter,  Beitrdge  zur  romischen  Topographie, 

I-IV,  Berlin,  1903-1910. 
Richter,  Top.2   .     .     .     O.  Richter,  Topographie  der  Stadt  Rom,  2d  ed., 

Munich,  1901. 
Strong,  Sculpture  .     .     Mrs.  Arthur   Strong,   Roman   Sculpture,  from 

Augustus  to  Constantine,  London,  1907. 


TOPOGRAPHY  AND  MONUMENTS  OF 
ANCIENT   ROME. 


CHAPTER  I. 

SOURCES  OF   INFORMATION. 

THE  chief  sources  of  information  about  the  topography  and 
monuments  of  ancient  Rome,  besides  the  monuments  them- 
selves, may  be  divided  into  two  classes,  the  ancient  and  the 
medieval.  The  ancient  sources  are:  Greek  and  Latin  litera- 
ture, inscriptions,  the  Capitoline  Plan  of  the  city,  the  Region- 
ary  Catalogues,  and  coins  and  reliefs.  The  medieval  sources 
are:  the  Einsiedeln  Itinerary,  the  Mirabilia  Romae,  and  draw- 
ings, sketches,  and  views,  although  most  of  these  belong  to  the 
Renaissance. 

Literary  Evidence.  —  The  references  in  Latin  literature  are 
of  primary  importance  in  giving  information  as  to  the  position 
and  history  of  buildings  and  monuments  of  every  kind.  Such 
references  are  found  in  more  or  less  abundance  in  the  writings 
of  every  Latin  author,  but  there  are  some  of  especial  value,  — 
the  Fasti  of  ^Ovid,  the  Naturalis  Historia  of  Pliny,  the  De  Ar- 
cJu'tectura  of  Vitruvius,  the  De  Aquis  of  Frontinus,  the  De  Lin- ' 
gua  Latina  of  Varro,  and  the  histories  of  Livy  and  Tacitus. 
Among  Greek  authors,  the  most  useful  are  Dionysius  of  Hali- 
carnassus  and  Dio  Cassius. 

Inscriptions  afford  much  topographical  information  both  by 
their  content  and  by  their  position.  Besides  the  ordinary 
dedicatory  and  honorary  inscriptions  which  regularly  state  the 


2  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

purpose  of  the  monument,  the  name  of  its  builder  or  restorer, 
and  the  date,  there  are  others  of  great  importance,  —  for  ex- 
ample, the  so-called  Oapitoline  Base, 1  a  pedestal  now  standing  in 
the  palazzo  dei  Conservatori.  This  pedestal  and  the  statue  which 
it  supported  were  dedicated  to  the  emperor  Hadrian  in  136  A.D. 
by  the  vicomagistri  of  five  of  the  city  regions,  and  on  the  sides 
of  the  base  are  cut  the  names  of  the  various  officials  of  the  vici, 
together  with  the  names  of  the  vici  themselves.  The  Monu- 
mentum  Ancyranum,2  the  bronze  tablets  placed  by  Augustus  on 
his  mausoleum  in  Rome",  which  were  reproduced  at  Ancyra  in 
Asia  Minor  and  also  at  Apollonia,  contains  an  invaluable  list 
of  the  buildings  which  Augustus  either  erected  or  restored.  The 
fragments  of  Roman  calendars,3  in  their  announcements  of  fes- 
tivals and  religious  observances,  contain  much  information  with 
regard  to  the  relative  position  of  temples  and  shrines.  Finally, 
the  inscriptions  stamped  on  tiles  and  bricks  4  are  exceedingly 
valuable  and  trustworthy  evidence  in  determining  the  date  of 
structures  in  which  they  are  found. 

The  Capitoline  Plan  (Forma  Urbis  Eomae).  — North  of  the 
Sacra  via  and  a  short  distance  east  of  the  forum  of  Augustus,  are 
the  remains  of  a  structure,  now  sometimes  called  templum  Sacrae 
Urbis,  which  was  probably  erected  by  Vespasian  and  seems  to 
have  been  used  as  a  repository  for  municipal  records  and 
archives,  particularly  the  results  of  the  census  and  survey  of 
the  city  made  in  the  years  73-T5.5 

Whether  erected  originally  by  Vespasian  or  not,  the  build- 
ing seems  to  have  been  restored  by  Severus,6  and  its  north  wall 
covered  with  marble  blocks  on  which  was  engraved  a  map  or 
plan  of  the  whole  city.  This  was  probably  a  restoration  of 
that  previously  existing,  which  in  its  turn  may  have  been  a 

1  CM.  vi.  975. 

2  OIL.  iii.  pp.  769-799;  Mommsen.  Res  Gestae  divi  Augusti,  1883. 
8  GIL.  i2.  passim.  *  OIL.  xv.  pt.  i. 

«  BC.  1892,  93-111 ;  Mitt.  1897,  148-160;  PI.  NH.  iii.  66-67. 
6  GIL.  vi.  935 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  5-7. 


SOURCES   OF  INFORMATION.  3 

copy  made  by  Vespasian  of  an  original  by  Agrippa.  The 
structure  itself  was  incorporated  with  the  temple  of  Romulus, 
the  son  of  Maxentius,  and  made  over  into  the  church  of  SS. 
Cosma  e  Damiano  between  the  years  526  and  530.  During  the 
years  1559-1565,  a  large  number  of  fragments  of  this  plan  were 
found  at  the  foot  of  the  wall  of  the  temple,  and  came  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  Farnese  family.  In  1742  they  were  transferred 

j  -  r ' 
-.'->  H 


FIG.  1.  —  FRAGMENTS  OF  THE  MARBLE  PLAN. 

to  the  Capitoline  Museum,  where  they  were  fastened  to  the 
walls  of  the  main  stairway.  Soon  after  the  discovery  of  these 
fragments,  drawings  were  made  of  ninety -two  of  the  principal 
pieces,  and  as  many  of  the  pieces  themselves  were  lost  in  the 
transfer  to  the  Capitoline  Museum,  restorations  made  from 
these  drawings  were  put  up  in  their  place.  These  resto- 
rations were  marked  with  a  star. 

In  1867  a  few  more  fragments  were  found  on  the  same  spot. 
In  1882  a  piece   containing  a  plan  of  the  vicus  Tuscus l  was 

1  2fS.  1882,  23S-238. 


4  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

found  in  the  Forum;  in  1884  another  fragment,1  also  in  the 
Forum;  and  in  1888  more  than  one  hundred  and  eighty  pieces,2 
mostly  small  and  insignificant,  were  found  behind  the  palazzo 
Farnese,  which  may  have  belonged  to  those  discovered  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  but  they  do  not  appear  on  any  of  the  draw- 
ings made  at  that  time.  In  1891  about  twenty-five  fragments  3 
were  discovered  at  the  foot  of  the  wall  of  the  temple;  and 
recent  excavations  in  the  Forum  (1899-1901)  have  brought 
to  light  about  four  hundred  pieces*  more,  mostly  very 
small. 

In  1903  the  fragments  were  removed  to  the  palazzo  dei  Con- 
servatori  where  the  larger  part  of  the  plan  was  reconstructed 
on  the  north  wall  of  the  garden  on  its  original  scale.  Of  the 
one  thousand  and  forty-nine  fragments  that  had  been  found, 
only  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  could  be  identified  with 
certainty.5 

The  wall  on  which  the  plan  was  fastened  is  still  standing, 
and  measures  22  metres  in  length  and  15  in  height,  and  the 
surface  covered  by  the  plan  has  been  estimated  at  266  square 
metres.  The  blocks  of  marble  varied  from  0.70  to  1.18  metres 
in  height,  and  from  1.70  to  2.25  metres  in  width,  their  thick- 
ness also  being  unequal.  The  scale6  on  which  the  map  is 
drawn  varies  even  within  the  limits  of  the  same  structure,  but 
seems  to  have  been  in  general  1  to  250.  If  this  scale  had  been 
employed  throughout,  the  whole  city  could  not  have  been  rep- 
resented on  this  wall,  whereas  in  fact  the  plan  embraces  some 
of  the  suburbs.  This  plan  was  not  set  up  with  the  north  at 
the  top,  as  is  now  the  custom,  but  at  the  bottom.  It  seems 
probable  that  most  of  the  plan  was  placed  so  that  the  southeast 

1  NS.  1884,  423. 

2  NS.  1888,  391-392,  437,  569;  BC.  1888,  386.  »  Mitt.   1892,  267. 
4  NS.  1900,  633-634;  BC.  1901,  3-21 ;  OR.  1899,  234;  1901,  330;  1902,  96. 

6  Atti  del  Congresso  Internazionale  di  Scienze  Storiche,  Rome,  1903,  i.  111- 
122;  Lanciani,  Golden  Days  of  the  Renaissance  in  Rome,  Boston,  1906,  132: 
BC.  1902,  347-348;  1903,  380. 

6  BC.  1886,  270-274;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1883,  5-22. 


SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION.  5 

was  at  the  top.1  This  arrangement  was  not  carried  out  with 
perfect  consistency,  and  a  variation  of  as  much  as  45°  must  be 
allowed  in  some  of  the  fragments.  Names  of  public  buildings 
are  given,  but  not  always  those  of  streets  and  squares.  The 
details  of  buildings  are  not  accurately  given,  nor  is  the  proper 
proportion  always  preserved.  Notwithstanding  these  defects, 
however,  the  plan  served  its  purpose  well,  and  its  fragments 
have  been  of  great  assistance  in  identifying  existing  ruins.2 

The  Regionary  Catalogues.  —  These  are  two  interpolated 
forms  of  the  same  original  document,  which  was  a  catalogue 
of  the  buildings  contained  in  each  of  the  fourteen  regions  estab- 
lished by  Augustus.  One,  which  bears  no  name  in  the  manu- 
scripts, is  known  as  the  UTotitia,  and  the  other  is  called  the 
Ouriosum  TJrbis  Romae  Regionum  XIV  cum  Breviariis  suis.3  The 
common  original  was  probably  compiled  between  312  and  315 
A.D.  and  was  itself  based  on  a  similar  document  of  the  first 
century.  The  Notitia  dates  from  some  time  later  than  334,  the 
Curiosum  from  about  357  A.D. 

These  catalogues  differ  slightly  in  details  of  statement, 
but  are  arranged  in  the  same  way.  They  fall  into  three 
parts  :  — 

(1)  An  enumeration  of  the  principal  buildings  and  monu- 
ments of  each  region,  beginning  with  the  number  and  name 
of  the  region,  followed  by  the  verb  continet.  After  the  names 
of  the  buildings,  follow  statistics  of  the  number  of  via,  aedi- 
culae,  vicomagistri,  curatores,  insulae,  domus,  horrea,  balnea, 
lacus,  and  pistrina,  and  finally  a  statement  of  the  number  of 
feet  in  the  region.  It  is  still  uncertain  whether  this  number 
refers  to  the  circumference  of  the  region,  or  to  the  sum  of  the 

1  BC.  1893,  128-134;  1901,  5;  Mitt.  1889,  79,  229;  1892,  267;  RhM.  1894,  420. 

2  H.  Jordan,  Forma  Urbis  Romae  regionum  xiv,  Berlin,  1874;  A.  Elter, 
De  forma  urbis  Romae  .  .  .  diss.  i.  ii.  Bonn,  1891 ;  Hiilsen,  Piante  icno- 
grafiche  incise  in  marmo,  Mitt.  1890,  46-63. 

s  Preller,  Die  Regionen  der  Stadt  Rom,  Jena,  1846 ;  Jordan,  II.  1-178,  546- 
582;  Richter,-rpp. 2  371-391;  Merrill,  CP.  1906,  133-144. 


6  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

street  distances  within  the  region,  but  it  probably  refers  to  the 
former,  although  the  figures  are  incorrect. 

In  some  regions,  as  the  eighth,  the  list  of  buildings  is  com- 
plete, or  nearly  so  ;  but  in  others  it  is  quite  incomplete,  so  that 
there  has  been  much  dispute  as  to  whether  it  was  intended  to 
include  all  the  noteworthy  structures  in  the  regions,  or  only 
those  along  the  boundaries.  The  former  is  undoubtedly  the 
true  hypothesis,  but  the  catalogue  seems  to  have  been  made  up 
from  a  map  of  the  city,  and  not  by  a  man  who  was  actually 
exploring  each  district.  Most  of  the  omissions  can  be  ex- 
plained in  this  way. 

(2)  An  appendix  without  special  title,  beginning  with  the 
number  of  bibliothecae  and  obelisci,  with  their  size  and  situation. 
This  is  followed  by  a  list  of  the  pontes,  monies,  campi,  fora, 
basilicae,  thermae,  aquae,  viae,  with  their  number  and  names. 

(3)  A  second  appendix,  called  Horum  Breviarium,  which  is 
a  concise  statement  of  the  number  of  buildings  and  monuments 
in  the  whole  city. 

In  the  case  of  those  classes  of  buildings  the  numbers  of 
which  are  given  under  each  region,  the  totals  in  the  appendix 
do  not  agree  with  the  sum  of  the  numbers  in  the  regions. 
These  discrepancies,  however,  are  probably  due  to  the  ordinary 
errors  of  manuscript  tradition. 

Coins  and  Reliefs.  —  The  frequent  representations  of  build- 
ings on  coins  1  are  of  value  in  identifying  and  dating  existing 
remains.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  many  reliefs,  like  that  of 
the  Haterii  (Fig.  2)  2  in  the  Lateran  Museum,  on  which  are  de- 
picted various  structures  at  the  upper  end  of  the  Sacra  via, 
and  the  relief  representing  the  Rostra  of  Domitian,  on  the  arch 
of  Constantine. 

1  E.  Babelon,  Monnaies  de  la  Republique  Romaine,  2  vols.,  Paris,  1885-1886; 
H.  Cohen,  Monnaies  frapptes  sous  V Empire  Romaine,  2d  ed.  8  vols.,  Paris, 
1880-1892. 

2  Ann.  d.  1st.  1894,465-510;  Mon.  d.  1st.  v.  7;   Helbig,  Fiihrer  durch  die 
Museen  Roms,  i2.  462-466;  G.  Spano,  Sul  rilievo  sepolchrale  deyli  Aterii, 
Naples,  1906. 


SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION. 


The  Einsiedeln  Itinerary.1  — 

As  early  as  the  eighth  century, 
the  need  was  felt  of  something 
in  the  nature  of  a  guide-book  for 
pilgrims  visiting  Home,  which 
should  describe  the  routes 
through  the  city  to  the  princi- 
pal churches  and  to  the  ceme- 
teries outside.  An  epitome  of 
such  an  itinerary  is  contained 
in  a  manuscript  (No.  326)  pre- 
served in  the  library  of  the 
monastery  of  Einsiedeln  in 
Switzerland.  This  manuscript 
also  contains  the  first  known 
collection  of  Latin  inscriptions. 
The  inscriptions  appear  to  have 
been  copied  with  care,  but  the 
topographical  information  is 
full  of  inaccuracies.  The  orig- 
inal itinerary  appears  to  have 
been  based  on  a  map  represent- 
ing the  city  as  a  circle,  and  the 
method  of  the  author  is  to  give 
the  names  of  the  monuments  on 
the  right  and  left  of  the  travel- 
ler as  he  passes  along  certain 
streets,  which  are  designated 
by  their  terminals. 

1  Lanciani,  L'ltinerario  di  Einsie- 
deln e  I'ordine  di  Benedetto  Canonico. 
Monumenti  Antichi  pubblicati  per 
euro,  delta  Reale  Accademia  del  Lincei, 
i.  1891,  437-152;  Jordan,  II.  329-356. 
646-663;  Hiilsen,  La  Pianta  di  Roma 
dell'  Anonimo  Einsidlense,  Rome,  1907. 


8  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

Eleven  routes  through  the  city  are  described,  but  there  is  no 
mention  of  the  temples  of  heathen  divinities,  and  in  the  collec- 
tion of  inscriptions  there  are  none  containing  the  names  of 
these  divinities.  A  map  representing  the  city  as  elliptical, 
but  probably  similar  to  that  which  accompanied  this  Itinerary, 
is  still  in  existence,1  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  others 
like  it  were  in  use  much  earlier. 

After  the  Itinerary  is  a  description 2  of  the  wall  of  Aurelian, 
giving  the  number  of  its  towers,  bulwarks,  posterns,  windows, 
etc.,  and  these  numbers  correspond  in  general  with  the  evidence 
of  the  ruins  themselves.  This  description  seems  to  have  been 
taken  from  one  written  in  the  fifth  century,  and  appears,  with 
some  variations,  in  a  work  by  William  of  Malmesbury,  entitled 
De  numero  portarum  et  sanctis  Romae,  of  the  seventh  century, 
and  again  in  the  Mirabilia  of  the  twelfth. 

Mirabilia  Romae.  —  This  is  a  description  of  the  city,3  com- 
piled about  1150,  consisting  of  three  parts :  — 

I.  A  classified  enumeration  of  the  various  monuments,  viz., 
de  muro  urbis,  de  portis,  de  miliaribus,  nomina  portarum,  etc. 

II.  Five  legends:  (1)  De  visione    Octaviani  imperatoris  et 
responsione  Sibillae;  (2)  Quare  foetus  est  caballus  marmoreiis  ; 
(3)  Quare  foetus  est  equus  qui  dicitur  Constantini  ;  (4)  Quare 
factum  sit  Pantheon  ;  (5)  Quare  Octavianus  vocatus  sit  Augustus 
et  quare  dicatur  ecclesia  S.  Petri  ad  vincula. 

III.  A  Periegesis,  or  description  of  the  principal  monuments 
and  marvels  met  with  in  walking  from  the  Vatican  through  the 
city  and  back  to  Trastevere. 

This  third  part  was  written  by  the  unknown  compiler  of  the 
whole  work ;  while  the  first  was  taken  from  some  guide-book 
like  the  Einsiedeln  Itinerary,  and  the  second  was  a  selection 

1  Cod.  Vat.  I960;  Hofler,  Deutsche  Pdpste,  i.  324;  Hiilsen,  I.e.  387. 
2. Jordan,  II.  578-582. 

3  F.  M.  Nichols,  Mirabilia  Urbis  Romae.  An  English  version,  London,  1889; 
Jordan,  II.  357-536,  605-643. 


SOURCES   OF  INFORMATION.  9 

frofn  current  legends.  The  chief  purpose  of  the  compiler 
seems  to  have  been  to  identify  the  ancient  temples,  and  was 
one  of  the  consequences  of  that  desire  for  a  reestablishment 
of  the  old  republic  which  animated  so  many  Romans  in  the 
twelfth  century.  This  book  had  a  very  considerable  vogue, 
was  issued  in  a  second  edition  a  century  later,  and  incorporated 
in  several  other  works. 

The  Graphia  Aureae  Urbis  Eomae  is  a  somewhat  later  recension 
of  the  same  original,  in  which  the  legends,  omitting  the  fifth, 
have  been  inserted  in  the  third  part,  and  various  additions 
have  been  made. 

Selections l  from  the  Graphia  are  found  in  Martin  of  Trop- 
pau's  (Martinus  Polonus)  Ohronicon,  1268 ;  Fazio  degli  Uberti's 
Dittamohdo,  about  1360 ;  Nicolaus  Signorili's  De  iuribus  et  excel- 
lentiis  urbis  Romae,  1417-1437 ;  and  in  a  manuscript  called  the 
Anonymus  Magliabecchianus,2  1410-1415. 

Drawings  and  Views.  —  Scattered  through  the  libraries  of 
Italy  and  elsewhere  in  Europe  are  many  drawings  and  sketches 
of  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  buildings  of  Rome,  made  by  the 
Italian  architects  of  the  fifteenth,  sixteenth,  and  seventeenth 
centuries.  These  have  been  found  very  useful  in  identifying 
or  locating  monuments  which  have  been  nearly  or  completely 
destroyed  since  the  time  when  the  drawings  were  made.  The 
same  is  true  of  engravings  and,  in  some  cases,  of  paintings  of 
this  period.3 

There  are  also  numerous  views 4  of  the  whole  city  or  portions 


1  Jordan,  II.  387-100;  Bull.  d.  1st.  1871,  11-17;  CIL.  vi.  pp.  xv-xvi. 

2  Ed.  Mercklin,  Dorpat,  1852. 

8  PBS.  ii. ;  Hiilsen-Carter,  35-46;  Jordan,  I.  3,  notes,  passim. 

4  List  of  those  known  in  BC.  1892,  38-40,  notes;  de  Rossi,  Piante  icnogra- 
fiche  e  prospettiche  di  Roma  anteriori  al  secolo  xvi,  Rome,  1879;  Rocchi,  Le 
piante  icnografiche  e  prospettiche  di  Roma  del  secolo  xvi,  Turin,  1902;  Ashby, 
Un  Panorama  de  Rome  par  Antoine  van  den  Wyngaerde,  Melanges,  1901, 
471-486;  Egger,  Coder-  Escurialensit,  Ein  Skizzenbuch  aus  der  Werkstatt 


10  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

thereof,  both  engraved  and  painted,  beginning  with  those  of 
Cimabue  in  the  thirteenth  century,  which  have  considerable 
topographical  value,  in  spite  of  their  inaccuracies. 

Domenico  Ghirlandaios,  Vienna,  1906;  Hiilsen,  La  Roma  Antica  di  Ciriaco 
d'Ancona,  Rome,  1907;  Ehrle,  La  Pianta  di  Roma  du  Perac-Lafrery  del 
1577,  Rome,  1908;  Mitt.  1896,  213-226;  BC.  1900,  28-32;  CR.  1906,  236. 


CHAPTER  II. 

GENERAL  TOPOGRAPHY  OF   ROME  AND  THE 
CAMPAGNA. 

The  Campagna.  —  The  city  of  Rome  is  situated  in  the 
middle  of  an  undulating  plain,  called  the  Campagna.1  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Sabatine  mountains,  lying  north 
of  lake  Bracciano  and  forming  the  southern  limit  of  the  ancient 
Ciminian  forest ;  on  the  east  by  the  high  range  of  the  Sabine 
Apennines ;  on  the  southeast  by  the  Alban  mountains  ;  and  on 
the  west  by  the  sea.  Directly  south  of  Rome  this  plain 
stretches  on  between  the  Alban  and  Volscian  mountains  and 
the  Mediterranean  to  Tarracina  (Anxur),  where  the  mountains 
run  into  the  sea.  The  southern  part  of  this  district  is  covered 
by  the  great  Pontine  Marshes,  paludes  Pomptinae.  The  term 
Campagna  is  sometimes  used  to  include  all  of  this  plain,  but  it 
properly  belongs  only  to  that  portion  which  lies  north  of  Lanu- 
vium  and  Ardea. 

1  R.  Burn,  Rome  and  the  Campagna,  London,  1876,  346-444;  E.  Abbate, 
Guida  della provincia  di  Roma,  2d  ed.  2  vols.,  Rome,  1894,  i.  1-175;  T.  Ashby, 
Classical  Topography  of  the  Roman  Campagna,  PUS.  i.  127-285 ;  iii.  1-212; 
iv.  1-158;  v.  215-432;  G.  Tomassetti,  La  Campagna  Romano,  i.  ii.,  Rome, 
1909,  1910;  G.  Brocchi,  Dello  stato  fisico  del.  suolo  di  Roma,  Rome,  1820; 
Raffaele  Canevari,  Cenni  sulle  condizioni  altimetriche  ed  idrauliche  dell'  agro 
romano,  Rome,  1874  (Annali  del  Ministero  di  Agricoltura) ;  Felice  Giordano, 
Condtzionj  topografiche  e.fisiche  di  Roma  e  della  Campagna  Romana,  Mono- 
grafia  della  citta  di  Roma  e  della  Campagna  Romana  presentata  all'  Es- 
posizione  universale  di  Parigi,  1878;  Paolo  Mantovani,  Descrizione  geologica 
della  Campagna  Romana,  Rome,  1874. 

Maps:  in  Abbate's Guida,  vol  ii.,  and  in  Ashby's  papers  (vid.  sup.).  Those 
issued  by  the  Istituto  Geografico  Militare  are  in  sheets  1  : 100,000,  1  : 50,000, 
and  1  : 25,000. 

11 


12         TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

The  distance  from  the  Sabatine  to  the  Alban  mountains  is 
about  60  kilometres ;  from  Rome  to  the  foot  of  the  Apennines 
is  25  kilometres,  and  the  distance  to  the  seacoast  is  about  the 
same.  This  width  decreases  as  one  goes  south.  From  Rome  to 
Tarracina,  the  southern  extremity  of  this  plain,  is  95  kilometres. 

Geological  Formation.  —  This  plain  is  of  volcanic  origin, 
and  was  covered  during  the  tertiary  period  by  the  sea.  The 
eruption  of  submarine  volcanoes  covered  the  Pliocene  clay  and 
marl  with  a  layer  of  volcanic  products  to  an  average  depth  of 
more  than  30  metres,  and  this,  being  more  or  less  stratified  by 
the  action  of  water,  formed  what  is  known  as  tufa.  Volcanic 
forces  then  elevated  the  land  very  considerably,  and  the  sea 
receded  to  its  present  limits. 

The  centre  of  volcanic  activity  during  this  first  period  is 
thought  to  have  been  at  the  northern  extremity  of  the  plain, 
around  lake  Bracciano.  After  the  sea  had  receded,  another 
centre  of  volcanic  disturbance  was  formed  in  the  Alban  hills, 
and  from  their  craters  igneous  products  were  poured  forth 
which  formed  deposits  of  conglomerate  at  various  points, 
especially  near  Albano,  where  the  rock  is  called  lapis  Albanus, 
and  near  Gabii,  where  it  is  called  lapis  Gabinus.  From  this 
Alban  volcano  there  issued  also  streams  of  lava,  the  course  of 
one  of  which  can  be  traced  almost  to  the  city  of  Eome.  The 
surface  thus  formed  was  cut  and  eroded  in  all  directions  by 
the  action  of  the  river  Tiber,  flowing  through  it  from  the  north, 
and  of  the  many  affluents  which  streamed  into  it  from  the 
surrounding  mountains. 

The  general  appearance  of  the  Campagna  is  that  of  an  undu- 
lating plain,  abounding  in  hillocks  and  crossed  in  all  directions 
by  deep  ravines  and  steep  cliffs,  the  height  of  which  .averages 
about  30  metres.  It  is  estimated  that  four-fifths  of  the  Cam- 
pagna consists  of  hills  and  one-fifth  of  valleys. 

The  erosion  of  the  water  has  produced  two  types  of  eleva- 
tion, one  that  of  a  tongue  projecting  from  a  plateau  between 


GENERAL  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ROME.         13 

two  streams  which  flow  together  at  its  end,  the  other  that  of 
an  entirely  isolated  hill  with  steep  cliffs  on  all  sides,  due  to 
its  having  been  completely  surrounded  by  water  courses. 
These  isolated  points  afforded  exceedingly  advantageous  sites 
for  the  fortified  hamlets  of  the  earliest  settlers. 

Whether  the  volcanoes  of  this  region  were  active  in  histori- 
cal times  is  still  a  matter  of  dispute.  Alleged  discoveries, 
beneath  volcanic  deposits,  of  material  which  can  be  dated  as 
late  as  the  third  or  fourth  century  B.C.  lack  convincing  evi- 
dence of  authenticity;  but  that  the  slopes  of  the  hills  were 
inhabited  before  the  total  extinction  of  the  volcanoes  is  proved 
by  the  discovery  of  a  necropolis  near  Albano,  entirely  covered 
by  a  layer  of  peperino.1 

It  is  probable  that  all  the  volcanoes  •  of  this  district  were 
practically  extinct  before  the  date  assigned  by  tradition  to  the 
founding  of  the  city  of  Koine.  Some  of  the  craters  of  these 
extinct  volcanoes  are  now  lakes,  notably  lake  Bracciano  (lacus 
Sabatinus)  and  lake  Martignano  (lacus  Alsietinus)  in  the  north ; 
and  lake  Albano  (lacus  Albanus)  and  lake  Nemi  (lacus  Nemo- 
rensis)  in  the  south. 

As  these  lakes  are  very  deep,  much  of  the  water  which  they 
contain  is  forced  under  high  pressure  through  the  sides  of  the 
crater,  and  collects  in  subterranean  reservoirs  formed  between 
the  strata  of  volcanic  deposit.  Part  of  this  water  is  drained 
off  into  the  Tiber,  but  much  of  it,  being  imable  to  flow  through 
the  impermeable  strata,  accumulates  near  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  and  can  be  carried  off  only  by  evaporation. 

In  classical  times,  a  complete  system  of  artificial  drainage 
seems  to  have  been  provided  to  dispose  of  this  accumulated 
water.  Remains  (3f  the  ancient  cuniculi,  or  drains,  have  been 
found  in  many  parts  of  the  Campagna.  This  system  of  drain- 
age, and  the  careful  cultivation  of  the  soil,  must  have  rendered 
the  whole  region  comparatively  healthy,2  and  accounts  for  the 

1  Abbate,  Gtiida,  i.  83-84 ;  Bull.  d.  1st.  1871, 34-40 ;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1871, 23Sf-279. 

2  Jordan,  I.  1  148-152. 


14  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

fact  that  the  Campagna  was  thickly  covered  with  villas,  even 
in  those  districts  where  now  the  fever  is  most  dangerous.  As 
is  now  well  known,  the  germs  of  this  fever  are  disseminated 
by  a  mosquito  which  breeds  in  marshy  districts. 

The  Tiber.  —  The  chief  factor  in  the  process  of  erosion  was 
the  Tiber,  the  principal  river  of  the  peninsula,  393  kilometres 
in  length,  which  rises  near  Arezzo  (Arretiuni)  in  Etruria,  and 
flows  southward  to  Rome,  where  it  turns  westward  to  the  sea. 
In  the  period  following  that  of  greatest  volcanic  activity,  its 
channel  was  many  times  as  wide  as  at  present  and  its  volume 
of  water  enormous.  At  its  mouth,  some  11  kilometres  farther 
inland  than  at  present,  the  stream  appears  to  have  been  nearly 
2  kilometres  wide.  Its  course  is  in  general  parallel  to  the 
main  range  of  the  Apennines,  and  its  banks  are  marked  by 
cliffs  and  hills  of  the  two  types  described  above  (p.  12).  At 
the  last  great  bend  of  the  river  toward  the  sea,  its  eroding 
force  produced  that  combination  of  these  two  formations  which 
conditioned  the  material  development  of  the  city  of  Rome. 

Here  the  river  flowed  between  the  edge  of  a  tableland  on  the 
east  and  a  ridge  of  hills  of  marine  formation  on  the  west.  The 
width  of  its  bed  varied  greatly,  from  2  kilometres  at  the  cam- 
pus Martius  to  less  than  a  quarter  of  that  distance  between 
the  Aventine  and  the  southern  point  of  the  Janiculum.  This 
gradual  narrowing  of  the  channel  produced  a  swifter  current, 
and  increased  the  amount  of  erosion.  During  the  formative 
period,  the  river  filled  the  whole  space  between  the  tableland 
on  the  one  side  and  the  hills  on  the  other.  As  the  width  of 
the  river  grew  less,  the  eroding  action  of  the  water  which 
flowed  down  into  it  from  the  higher  ground  was  greatly  in- 
creased. 

Certain  of  the  hills  of  Koine,  therefore,  which  now  appear 
completely  isolated,  like  the  Palatine  and  Aventiue,  or  nearly 
so,  like  the  Capitoline  and  Caelian,  are  so  because  during  this 
period  they  were  entirely  surrounded  by  the  river  and  exposed 


GENERAL  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ROME.         15 

to  its  action  on  all  sides ;  while  the  eastern  hills,  projecting 
like  tongues  of  land,  were  not  thus  surrounded. 

The  Site  of  Rome.1  —  The  present  topography  of  the  city  is 
in  its  main  features  almost  the  same  as  when  the  first  settle- 
ments were  made  upon  that  site. 

The  Tiber,  now  100  metres  in  width,  flows  through  the  city 
from  north  to  south,  in  five  reaches :  from  the  point  where 
the  Aurelian  wall  approached  the  stream,  southeast  for  about 
800  metres  to  the  Tarentum  ;  then  almost  due  west  for  1  kilo- 
metre to  a  short  distance  beyond  the  mausoleum  of  Hadrian 
(the  castle  of  S.  Angelo)  ;  then  southeast  for  2  kilometres  to  a 
point  opposite  the  Palatine  hill ;  then  southwest  for  1.5  kilo- 
metres to  the  Emporium ;  and  finally  south  again  for  1  kilo- 
metre to  the  angle  of  the  Aurelian  wall.  Where  the  river 
approaches  most  nearly  to  the  Capitoline,  it  divides  and  flows 
round  an  island  about  270  metres  in  length  and  70  metres  in 
greatest  breadth. 

The  great  bend  to  the  west  inclosed  the  meadows,  nearly  1.5 
•kilometres  wide,  to  which  the  name  of  campus  Martins  was 
given;  and  the  smaller  bend  to  the  east  left  space  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  stream  for  that  part  of  the  city  which  was  known 
as  trans  Tiberim  (Trastevere).  East  and  south  of  the  campus 
Martius  rise  the  hills  which  are  the  characteristic  features  of 
the  city. 

The  central  point  is  marked  by  the  Palatine,  an  irregular 
quadrilateral,  about  twenty-five  acres  (10  hectares)  in  extent, 
surrounded  by  steep  cliffs  except  at  its  eastern  angle,  where  a 
spur,  the  Velia,  connected  it  with  the  Esquiline.  The  western 
angle  of  the  hill  approaches  to  within  about  300  metres  of  the 
river. 

1  All  previous  maps  of  the  ancient  city  of  Rome  have  been  superseded  by 
the  following  great  work :  Forma  Urbis  Romae,  consilio  et  auctoritate  Regiae 
Academiae  Lincaeorum  .  .  .  edidit  Rodolphus  Lanciani,  forty-six  sheets, 
Milan,  Ffoepli,  1893-1901.  The  best  wall-map  is  Hiilsen,  Romae  veteris  tabula 
in  usum  scholarum  descripta,  1  :  4250,  Berlin,  1901. 


16  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

South  and  southwest  of  the  Palatine  lies  the  Aventine,  a  hill 
of  similar  formation,  but  somewhat  larger.  North  of  the  Pala- 
tine, the  Oapitoline  now  appears  as  an  entirely  isolated  elevation, 
and  seems  always  to  have  been  such,  although  the  shoulder  of 
the  Quirinal  may  have  approached  nearer  to  it.  (See  p.  285.)  It 
corresponds  closely  with  the  Palatine  and  Aventine. 

The  remaining  hills  are  quite  different,  and  are  all  spurs  of 
the  eastern  plateau,  projecting  out  toward  the  river,  and  sepa- 
rated from  each  other  by  depressions  of  varying  length  and 
breadth.  The  southernmost  of  these,  mons  Oaelius,  directly  east 
of  the  Palatine,  preserves  more  of  the  appearance  of  an  inde- 
pendent hill,  being  connected  with  the  high  land  behind  it  only 
by  a  narrow  neck.  North  of  the  Caelian  is  the  Esquiline,  a  large 
hill  consisting  of  two  parts,  the  main  southern  portion  called 
mons  Oppius,  and  the  smaller  northern  spur,  mons  Oispius.  North 
of  the  Esquiline  is  another  small  tongue  of  land,  collis  Viminalis ; 
and  beyond  this  and  almost  inclosing  it,  the  collis  Quirinalis. 
This  long  ridge  was  originally  divided  into  four  parts  :  the  collis 
Latiaris,  the  southern  elevation  above  the  forum  of  Trajan;  the 
collis  Mucialis,  from  the  via  di  Magnanapoli  to  monte  Cavallo ; 
the  collis  Salntaris,  from  monte  Cavallo  to  the  church  of  S. 
Andrea;  and  the  collis  Quirinalis,  from  this  point  east.  The 
first  three  names  passed  out  of  use  at  an  early  date,  and  collis 
Quirinalis  became  the  proper  designation  of  the  whole  hill. 
North  of  the  Quirinal  is  the  collis  hortorum,  the  modern  Pincian, 
which  marked  the  latest  stage  in  the  growth  of  the  city,  and 
was  never  reckoned  among  the  "  Seven  Hills."  The  term 
mons  was  very  rarely  applied  to  the  Viminal  and  Quirinal, 
which  were  known  as  colles  (p.  41). 

On  the  right  bank  of  the  Tiber,  the  ridge  of  the  Janiculum, 
in  its  modern  sense,  runs  almost  due  north  and  south  for  2 
kilometres,  coming  to  an  abrupt  end  at  the  point  where  the 
river  makes  its  great  bend  to  the  southeast.  Here  the  hill 
approaches  to  within  100  metres  of  the  river.  The  ridge  is 
separated  from  the  plateau  behind  by  a  long  depression.  At 


GENERAL  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ROME.         17 

the  northern  end  of  the  Janiculum,  the  level  between  the  river 
and  the  hill  stretches  out  for  1 .5  kilometres,  and  is  bounded  on 
the  west  by  the  continuation  of  the  high  ground  behind  the 
Janiculum. 

There  are  now  in  the  city  three  elevations  of  artificial  ori- 
gin. One,  mons  Testaceus  (monte  Testaccio),  southwest  of  the 
Aventine  and  close  to  the  river  and  ancient  warehouses,  is  com- 
posed entirely  of  fragments  of  earthen  vessels  in  which  grain 
and  stores  of  various  sorts  were  brought  to  Rome,  and  rises  to  a 
height  of  43  metres  above  the  Tiber.  Inasmuch  as  the  first 
of  these  warehouses  (Jiorrea)  dated  from  the  last  century  of  the 
republic,  the  accumulation  of  these  fragments  probably  began 
as  early  as  that  date. 

The  two  other  artificial  hills  or  mounds  are  in  the  campus 
Martius,  the  monte  Giordano  and  the  monte  Citorio,1  respec- 
tively G  and  9  metres  in  height.  Both  mounds  are  formed  by 
the  ruins  of  imperial  buildings.  (See  pp.  365,  370,  379.) 

The  following  table 2  gives  the  altitude  of  the  different  hills 
above  the  level  of  the  Tiber,  which  is  6.7  metres  above  the  sea- 
level  at  the  Eipetta :  — 

Aventine  (S.  Alessio)         .  39.22  metres. 

Capitoline  (Aracoeli) 39.30  " 

Caelian  (Villa  Mattel) 41.15  " 

Palatine  (S.  Bonaventura)         ....  43.30  " 

Esquiline  (S.  Maria  Maggiore)  ....  47.75  " 

Viminal  (R.R.  station) 50.78  " 

Quirinal  (Porta  Pia) 56.35  " 

Pincian  (Porta  Pinciana) 66.35  " 

Vatican  (Pope's  Gardens)          ....  67.30  "' 

Janiculum  (Villa  Savorelli)       ....  -82.30  " 

The  highest  point  within  the  Aurelian  wall  is  on  the  Janicu* 
lum  at  the  porta  Aurelia  (Porta  di  S.  Pancrazio),  75  metres 
above  the  river. 

Between  the  hills  are  valleys,  or  rather  depressions,  which 

i  Richter,  Top.*  254 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  595,  603.  *  Lanciani,  Ruins,  3. 


18  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

form  well-defined  topographical  units.  The  most  important  is 
that  lying  between  the  Palatine,  the  Esquiline,  the  Quirinal, 
and  the  Capitoline,  which  became  the  Porum.  North  of  the 
Forum  is  a  narrow  valley,  which  runs  between  the  ends  of 
the  Oppian  and  Quirinal  and  then  widens.  This  valley  was 
called  the  Slibura,  and  was  one  of  the  most  thickly  settled  and 
disreputable  quarters  of  the  city.  From  it  three  depressions 
run  eastward  and  northward  between  the  projecting  spurs  of 
the  hills. 

Through  the  Stibura,  with  affluents  from  the  slopes  on  each 
side,  ran  a  brook *  which  crossed  the  Forum,  traversed  the  low 
ground  between  the  Forum  and  the  river,  and  emptied  into 
the  latter  below  the  island.  This  brook  was  walled  in  at  an 
early  date,  and  became  the  famous  Cloaca  Maxima. 

The  low  district  between  the  Forum,  the  Palatine  and  Capi- 
toline, and  the  river  comprised  the  Velabrum  and  the  cattle 
and  vegetable  markets  (forum  Boarium,  forum  Holitorium).  What- 
ever may  be  the  correct  derivation  of  the  word  Velabrum,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  when  the  first  settlements  were  made  on  the 
surrounding  hills,  this  region  was  very  marshy  and  to  some 
extent  under  water,  besides  being  continually  subject  to  inun- 
dations from  the  Tiber. 

After  the  Forum  and  the  Subura,  the  most  important  valley  in 
Rome  was  that  between  the  Palatine  and  the  Aventine,  through 
which  ran  a  brook  called  in  the  middle  ages  the  Marrana,  which 
had  its  source  near  the  seventh  milestone  on  the  via  Tuscu- 
lana,  and  flowing  from  the  southwest,  passed  under  the  line  of 
the  Aurelian  wall  near  the  porta  Metrovia,  and  through  the 
depression  between  the  Esquiline  and  the  Caelian.  The  valley 
between  the  Palatine  and  Aventine  was  called  the  vallis  Murcia, 
and  in  late  republican  and  imperial  times  was  completely  filled 
by  the  Circus  Maximus. 

Still  another  long  valley  lies  between  the  Pincian  and  the 

1  Perhaps  the  Spinon.  Cic.  de  nat.  dear.  iii.  52 ;  Lanciani,  Ruins,  29;  Pinza, 
Mon.  d.  Lincei,  1905,  275. 


GENERAL  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ROME.         19 

Quirinal,  and  through  it  ran  a  stream  which  emptied  into  one 
of  the  two  principal  swampy  ponds  of  the  campus  Martius,1 
the  Caprae  palus.  Another  brook  flowed  from  the  western  slope 
of  the  Quirinal,  near  the  porta  Salutaris,  westward  across  the 
campus  Martius.  Topographers  are  not  entirely  agreed  as  to 
which  of  these  last  two  streams  is  the  Petronia  amnis,2  which 
had  its  source  in  the  Oati  fons.  The  probability  is  that  the 
southernmost  of  the  two  is  the  original  Petronia  amnis,  and 
that  it  may  be  identified  with  a  stream  that  now  flows  under- 
ground from  a  source,  the  Cati  fons,  beneath  a  courtyard  in 
the  royal  palace,  just  east  of  the  via  della  Panetteria. 

North  of  the  Caprae  palus  lay  the  second  pond,  similar  but 
much  smaller,  known  as  the  Tarentum.  West  of  the  Caelian, 
and  at  a  higher  elevation  than  the  others,  was  another  pool, 
called  the  Decenniae. 

Geology  of  the  City.  — There  are  three  principal  formations 
visible  within  the  circuit  of  the  city  itself.  The  most  impor- 
tant is  the  volcanic  tufa  rock,  already  mentioned,  which  forms 
the  hills  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tiber  and  the  stratum  under- 
lying the  whole  region.  The  low  ground  and  the  depressions 
between  the  hills  themselves  and  between  the  hills  and  the 
river  are  covered  to  a  considerable  depth  with  a  quaternary 
alluvial  deposit  of  sand,  clay,  and  gravel,  brought  down  by  the 
Tiber  during  the  period  of  its  greatest  activity  and  volume. 
This  deposit  is  found  also  upon  the  lower  slopes  of  the  hills. 
On  the  right  bank,  on  the  Janiculum  and.  mons  Vaticanus, 
there  is  a  marine  formation  belonging  to  the  Older  Pliocene 
period,  and  consisting  mainly  of  a  bluish  gray  marl,  much 
used  for  making  pottery,  and  of  yellow  sea  sand,  of  great 
value  for  building  purposes.  In  all  of  these  strata,  except  the 
tufa,  fossils  are  found  in  considerable  abundance. 

*For  another  view,  cf.  BC.  1883,  344-258. 

2Fest.  250;  Epit.  45;  RhM.  1894,  401  ff.;  Richter,  Top?  225,  285;  Jordan, 
I.  3.  472-474. 


20  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

Changes  in  Level.  —  It  is  certain,  from  the  evidence  of  actual 
excavations  and  from  the  testimony  of  classical  literature,  that 
some  changes  in  the  altitude  of  the  hills  and  valleys  of  the 
city  have  taken  place  since  early  times.1  These  changes  have 
resulted  from  the  tremendous  building  activity  of  the  empire, 
on  the  one  hand ;  and  on  the  other,  from  the  falling  into  decay 
of  most  of  the  ancient  city  during  the  middle  ages,  the  dump- 
ing of  rubbish  in  certain  localities  during  long  periods,  and  the 
building  activity  of  the  renaissance. 

With  regard  to  the  changes  under  the  empire,  all  excavations 
in  Rome  show  clearly  that  we  have  to  do,  not  with  structures 
of  one  period,  but  of  successive  periods,  and  that  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  erect  the  later  building  upon  the  ruins  of  the  earlier. 
It  is  not  unusual  to  find  the  remains  of  three  or  even  four 
structures,  one  above  another.  The  recent  excavations  in  the 
Forum  have  shown  this  in  a  most  striking  way.  The  level  of 
the  Comitiurn,  or  open  area  in  front  of  the  senate  house,  in  the 
time  of  Diocletian,  was  4  metres  higher  than  the  earliest  level 
of  the  ground  at  this  point ;  and  in  some  parts  of  the  Forum 
the  variation  is  still  greater. 

With  the  earth  removed  by  Diocletian  in  clearing  a  space  for 
his  enormous  baths,  a  mound  was  formed  on  the  Viminal  some 
20  metres  high,  the  highest  point  within  the  Aurelian  wall  east 
of  the  Tiber,  and  the  construction  of  the  great  agger  across  the 
Viminal  and  Esquiline,  and  its  subsequent  conversion  into  part 
of  the  gardens  of  Maecenas  must  have  brought  about  consider- 
able changes  in  level  in  that  region.  During  this  period,  how- 
ever, the  relative  height  of  hills  and  valleys  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  materially  altered  except  at  a  few  points. 

During  the  centuries  between  the  fall  of  the  empire  and  the 
renaissance,  the  history  of  the  city  is  one  of  steady  destruction, 
and  changes  in  level  were  due  almost  entirely  to  the  accumula- 
tion of  the  ruins  of  ancient  structures.  These  ruins,  produced 

1Lanciani,  Ruins,  99-104;  Destruction  of  Ancient  Rome,  chapters  ii.  xix, 
and  passim* 


GENEEAL  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ROME.  21 

either  by  natural  decay  or  intentional  destruction  during  this 
long  period,  must  have  raised  the  level  of  the  soil  in  some 
parts  of  the  city  very  considerably.  The  renewed  building 
activity  just  before  and  during  the  renaissance  caused  further 
changes  in  two  ways,  —  by  the  clearing  away  of  existing  ruins 
for  new  structures,  and  by  the  dumping  of  vast  amounts  of 
rubbish  in  certain  localities.  Thus  Cardinal  Farnese,  when 
building  the  church  of  the  Gesu  in  the  campus  Martius, 
removed  great  quantities  of  earth  to  the  Palatine  hill.  From 
the  tenth  to  the  sixteenth  centuries  so  much  rubbish  had  been 
emptied  into  the  Forum  that  its  level  was  raised  nearly  10 
metres  above  the  pavement  of  the  empire. 

The  excavations  which  have  been  carried  on  in  the  city  show 
that  the  depth  of  the  debris,  which  has  accumulated  in  these 
different  ways,  varies  from  a  few  inches  to  nearly  20  metres. 
The  foundations  of  the  new  treasury  building  on  the  Quirinal 
had  to  be  sunk  through  12  metres  of  loose  soil,  and  similar  con- 
ditions have  been  found  in  other  parts  of  the  city. 


CHAPTER  III.    . 

BUILDING  MATERIALS  AND   METHODS. 

Building  Materials.  —  The  principal  building  materials l  em- 
ployed in  Some  were  the  following :  — 

Tufa  (Tofus  ruber  et  niger).  This  volcanic  product,2  already 
mentioned  in  connection  with  the  formation  of  the  Campagna, 
is  a  mechanical  conglomerate  of  scoriae,  ashes,  and  sand,  and 
of  varying  density.  In  some  districts  it  presents  few  signs  of 
stratification,  being  either  loose  and  friable  like  earth,  or  hard- 
ened into  a  solid  mass  by  time  and  pressure.  Elsewhere  it 
shows  distinct  evidence  of  having  been  deposited  in  water  and 
stratified  by  its  action.  The  color  varies  from  reddish  brown 
to  yellow  and  sometimes  gray.  Even  the  hardest  varieties 
make  poor  building  stone  when  left  exposed  to  the  atmosphere, 
but  are  sufficiently  durable  when  covered  with  stucco  or  cement. 
Tufa  is  characteristic  of  the  first  centuries  of  Rome's  existence, 
being  the  only  stone  employed  during  the  earliest  period. 

Peperino  (lapis  Albanus).  This,3  like  tufa,  is  a  conglomerate 
of  volcanic  ashes  and  sand,  together  with  fragments  of  stone, 
but  formed  in  a  somewhat  different  way,  apparently  by  the 
action  of  hot  water  upon  ashes.  Thickly  scattered  through  its 
mass  are  scoriae  in  large  quantities,  which  from  their  resem- 
blance to  peppercorns  (piper)  have  given  the  current  name  to 
the  stone.  It  was  quarried  in  the  Alban  hills,  hence  its  ancient 
name,  lapis  Albanus.  It  is  a  much  harder  and  better  building 
stone  than  tufa,  and  was  very  largely  employed  during  the 
later  republic  and  empire  in  structures  where  greater  dura- 


i  Middleton,  Remains,  i.  1-26.  8  Vitr.  ii.  7. 1. 

2Vitr.  ii.  7.  1-2;  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  166. 
22 


BUILDING  MATERIALS  AND  METHODS.  23 

bility  and  strength  were  required  than  could  be  furnished  by 
tufa. 

Sperone  (lapis  Gabinus).  This  stone  was  quarried  near  Gabii, 
and  is  similar  in  formation  to  peperino,  but  it  is  still  harder 
and  more  durable.  It  contains  many  fragments  of  lava  of 
varying  sizes.  It  was  used  like  peperino,1  but  apparently  not 
so  extensively. 

Travertine  (lapis  Tiburtinus).  This  is  the  famous  limestone 2 
of  the  Sabine  hills,  the  principal  quarries  of  which  were,  as 
the  name  indicates,  near  Tibur.  It  also  lies  in  large  beds  all 
along  the  Anio  and  some  other  smaller  streams  in  the  vicinity. 
Travertine  "is  a  pure  carbonate  of  lime,  very  hard,  of  a  beau- 
tiful creamy  color  which  weathers  into  a  rich  golden  tint.  It 
is  a  deposit  from  running  water,  and  is  found  in  a  highly 
stratified  state,  with  frequent  cavities  and  fissures,  lined  with 
crystallized  carbonate  of  lime."3  Travertine  was  not  intro- 
duced into  general  use  in  the  city  until  the  second  century  B.C., 
but  after  that  time  it  was  one  of  the  principal  materials  em- 
ployed by  the  Romans,  especially  for  large  and  magnificent 
structures  like  the  Colosseum. 

Lava  (silex).  Four  lava  streams  *  had  flowed  down  from  the 
Alban  crater,  one  of  which  approached  within  three  miles  of 
the  city  itself,  close  to  the  tomb  of  Caecilia  Metella  on  the  via 
Appia.  From  these  beds  the  lava  was  quarried  in  large 
blocks  for  the  pavement  of  streets,  while  the  smaller  pieces 
were  mixed  with  pozzolana  and  lime  to  make  concrete  and 
rubble-work. 

Pozzolana  (pulvis  Puteolanus).  This  volcanic  sand5  derives 
its  name  from  Puteoli,  near  Naples,  where  great  beds  of  it 
exist,  although  it  is  also  found  in  large  quantities  all  round 
Home.  It  consists  chiefly  of  silica,  magnesia,  potash,  lime,  and 
alumina,  and  when  mixed  with  lime  in  the  proportion  of  about 

1  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  43.  4  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  168. 

2  Vitr.  ii.  7. 1-2.  6 yitr.  ii.  6.  1. 
8  Middleton,  Remains,  i.  7. 


24  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  EOME. 

two  to  one,  forms  an  hydraulic  cement  of  remarkable  strength. 
The  concrete  made  of  this  cement  and  fragments  of  different 
sorts  of  stone  was  one  of  the  most  important  materials  em- 
ployed by  the  Romans,  as  it  rendered  possible  the  enormous 
vault  and  dome  construction  which  is  so  conspicuous  in  the 
buildings  of  the  empire. 

Brick  (later,  testa,  tegula).  The  Romans  made  two  kinds  of 
brick,1  the  one  dried  in  the  sun  (later)  and  the  other  dried  in  a 
kiln  (testa,  tegula),  the  principal  material  in  their  manufacture 
being  the  clay  (creta  figulina  2)  which  was  found  in  abundance  in 
several  places  in  the  vicinity,  but  especially  on  the  slopes  of  the 
Vatican.  No  examples  of  unburnt  brick  now  exist,  but  it  was 
used  almost  exclusively  down  to  the  time  of  Augustus,  and  was 
reasonably  durable  while  carefully  protected  from  the  action  of 
the  atmosphere.  Kiln-dried  bricks  and  tiles  (testa,  tegula)  ex- 
ist in  vast  numbers,  having  been  most  extensively  used  in  build- 
ings of  every  description  throughout  the  empire.  The  bricks 
proper  are  of  different  shapes,  —  square,  oblong,  round,  and 
triangular,  —  but  the  last  is  the  prevailing  type,  as  it  suited 
best  the  ordinary  method  of  use.  Walls  and  foundations,  when 
not  constructed  of  solid  stone,  were  regularly  built  of  concrete 
faced  with  a  lining  of  small  stones,  tiles,  or  bricks,  which  were 
tailed  into  the  mass  behind.  The  triangular  shape  was  there- 
fore especially  convenient.  Tiles  (tegulae),  which  were  used  in 
this  way  in  such  quantities,  were  broken  or  sawed  into  irreg- 
ular or  triangular  pieces. 

So  far  as  we  know  bricks  proper  were  never  made  larger  than 
22  centimetres  square,  but  the  tiles  were  considerably  larger. 
They  were  frequently  stamped  with  a  round  or  rectangular 
seal,3  which  contain  some  or  all  of  the  following  indications : 
the  name  of  the  owner  or  superintendent  of  the  clay-pits 
or  kilns,  the  actual  maker  of  the  brick,  the  person  in  charge 


i  Vitr.  ii.  3.  2  Varro,  RR.  iii.  9.  3. 

»Marini,  Iscrizioni  doliari,  Rome,  1884;  H.  Dressel,  in  OIL.  xv.  1. 


BUILDING  MATERIALS  AND   METHODS.  25 

of  the  sale  of  the  manufactured  product,  and  the  names  of  the 
consuls  for  the  year  or  of  the  ruling  emperor.  By  means  cf 
these  dates,  the  time  of  construction  or  restoration  of  many 
Koman  buildings  has  been  determined,  and  it  has  been  pos- 
sible to  arrive  at  criteria  for  fixing  the  period  of  manufacture 
of  different  kinds  of  bricks. 

Marble.  The  use  of  marble,1  both  native  and  foreign,  began 
in  Borne  in  the  first  decade  of  the  first  century  B.C.,  and 
spread  with  great  rapidity.  Augustus  boasted  that  he  had 
found  the  city  brick  and  left  it  marble ; 2  and  under  the  suc- 
ceeding emperors  the  amount  of  marble  of  all  possible  varie- 
ties which  was  brought  to  Rome  surpasses  our  belief.  The 
number  of  kinds  mounts  up  to  about  one  hundred  and  fifty, 
and  in  spite  of  centuries  of  destruction  the  amount  still  visible 
in  churches  and  palaces  is  almost  incredible.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  that  quarried  at  Luna  near  Carrara,  practically  all  the 
marble  used  in  Kome  was  imported.  It  was  rarely  used  in 
solid  blocks  in  the  construction  of  an  entire  wall,  but  in  slabs 
of  varying  thickness,  with  which  a  wall  of  other  material  was 
lined.  These  slabs  were  fastened  to  the  wall  with  clamps  or  pins. 

The  term  marble,  in  connection  with  Koman  buildings,  is 
ordinarily  not  restricted  to  its  exact  scientific  application,  but 
includes  many  other  stones  of  a  decorative  character,  such  as 
serpentine,  alabaster,  and  fluor  spar,  which  with  granite,  basalt, 
and  porphyry,  were  imported  into  Rome  from  every  part  of 
the  known  world,  in  enormous  quantities. 

Methods  of  Building.3  —  These  may  be  classified  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

Opus   quadratum.4      There    are    no    traces   of    the   so-called 

iCorsi,  Delle  pietre  antiche,  Rome,  1845;  H.  W.  Pullen,  Handbook  of 
Ancient  Roman  Marbles,  London,  1894;  M.  W.  Porter,  What  Rome  was 
built  with,  London,  1907.  2  Suet.  Aug.  28. 

8Middleton,  Remains,  i.  27-91;  A.  Choisy,  L'Art  de  bdtir  chez  les  Romains, 
Paris,  1873;  J.  Durm,  Die  Baukunst  der  Romer,  2d  ed.,  Stuttgart,  1905;  Jor- 
dan, I.  1.  3-24.  <  Vitr.  ii.  8.  6-8. 


26  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

polygonal  masonry  in  Rome,  and  the  earliest  walls  were  built 
of  rectangular  blocks  of  tufa,  laid  in  regular  courses.  To  this 
form  of  construction  the  term  opus  quadratum  was  applied, 
whatever  the  nature  of  the  stone  itself.  Where  brown  or 
yellow  tufa  or  peperino  were  used,  the  blocks  were  usually  2 
Roman  feet  in  height  and  in  thickness.  The  length  varied, 
but  in  the  most  perfect  examples  it  is  usually  4  feet,  just  twice 
the  height,  and  the  blocks  are  laid  in  alternate  courses  of  headers 
and  stretchers,  one  course  running  lengthwise  and  the  next 
being  laid  endwise  (emplectori).  In  the  earliest  opus  quadratum 
of  gray  tufa  the  blocks  were  smaller.  Where  travertine  was 
the  material  employed,  the  blocks  were  not  all  cut  of  the  same 
size,  as  that  would  have  involved  too  great  a  loss. 

Mortar  or  cement  was  used  during  the  earliest  period,  but 
only  in  a  thin  bed  or  skin,  not  to  bind  the  blocks  together,  but 
simply  to  make  a  more  perfect  joint.  At  the  close  of  the  re- 
public and  under  the  empire  this  use  of  mortar  became  infre- 
quent, and  the  surfaces  of  the  stone  were  worked  so  smooth  that 
the  joints  are  barely  discernible.  This  can  be  seen  in  the  wall 
of  the  podium  of  the  temple  of  Faustina.  At  that  time  it  was 
usual  to  fasten  the  blocks  together  with  iron  clamps  or  wooden 
dowels.  The  native  tufa  was  the  stone  first  and  most  exten- 
sively employed  for  this  sort  of  construction,  but  at  a  compara- 
tively early  date  the  Romans  introduced  the  custom  of  using 
peperino  at  points  where  greater  strength  and  durability  were 
required. 

After  the  second  century  B.C.  travertine  was  used  for  this 
purpose ;  and  sometimes  alone,  to  form  the  whole  wall,  as  in 
the  podium  of  the  temple  of  Vespasian.  Some  of  the  walls  of 
the  Colosseum  and  of  the  forum  Pacis  are  of  tufa,  travertine, 
and  peperino.  In  such  cases,  the  harder  stones  are  regularly 
used  for  keystones,  springers,  voussoirs,  jambs,  and  points 
where  the  pressure  is  greatest. 

Concrete  (structura  caementicid).  Roman  concrete  was  made 
of  pozzolana  and  lime,  with  fragments  of  stone  (caementum) 


BUILDING   MATERIALS  AND   METHODS.  27 

scattered  through  the  mass  irregularly  or  in  layers.  During 
republican  times  these  fragments  were  regularly  of  tufa,  rarely 
of  peperino ;  but  later,  broken  brick,  travertine,  bits  of  marble, 
and  pumice  stone  were  used,  the  last  in  making  the  great  vaults 
where  lightness  was  especially  desirable.  This  concrete  is  so 
remarkable  for  its  cohesiveness  that  when  firmly  set  it  is  like 
solid  rock.  From  the  beginning  of  the  first  century  B.C.  it  was 
the  principal  material  used  in  building  walls  and  foundations, 
sometimes  without,  but  usually  with,  a  facing  of  brick  or  stone. 
Unfaced  concrete  was  used  in  foundations  and  substructures 
which  were  not  to  be  seen.  It  must  have  been  laid  in  a  sort  of 
mould,  —  cast,  in  other  words,  —  while  in  a  semifluid  state. 
Planks  were  arranged  so  as  to  form  a  wooden  box  of  the  re- 
quired size  and  shape,  and  in  this  successive  layers  of  semifluid 
cement  and  fragments  of  stone  were  placed.  When  the  mass 
had  hardened,  the  planking  was  removed.  Traces  of  these 
wooden  supports  are  plainly  visible  in  many  places,  —  for  ex- 
ample, on  the  massive  foundations  beneath  the  Flavian  palace 
on  the  Palatine. 

Far  more  frequently  concrete  was  faced  with  stone  or  brick, 
and  the  relative  structural  value  of  the  two  parts  varied  accord- 
ing to  the  total  thickness  of  the  wall.  Construction  of  this 
sort  is  named  according  to  the  kind  of  facing  employed,  and 
the  terms  which  properly  refer  only  to  the  facing  itself  are 
applied  to  the  whole  structure. 

Opus  incertum.1  The  concrete  is  faced  with  irregular  bits  of 
tufa,  6  to  10  centimetres  across,  with  smooth  outer  surface  and 
cut  in  conical  or  pyramidal  shape  so  as  to  tail  easily  into  the 
concrete  backing.  This  was  the  oldest  method  of  facing,  and 
was  in  vogue  during  the  second  and  first  centuries  B.C.  A  good 
example  of  opus  incertum  of  the  second  century  can  be  seen  in 
the  wall  at  the  foot  of  the  scalae  Caci  on  the  Palatine. 

Opus  reticulatnm.2    This  is  similar  to  opus  incertum,  except 

*  Vitr.  ii.  8.  1.    Cf.  The  Nation,  1904,  202.  »Vitr.  ii.  8.  1. 


28 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


that  the  small  stones  are  carefully  cut  with  square  or  lozenge- 
shaped  ends,  and  are  arranged  in  rows  corner  to  corner,  so  as 
to  present  a  perfectly  symmetrical  appearance,  resembling  the 
meshes  of  a  net.  This  displaced  opus  incertum  almost  entirely, 


m 


Opus  incertum. 


Opus  reticulatum. 


Opus  latericlum.  Opus  mix  turn. 

FIG.  3.  —  METHODS  OF  CONSTRUCTION. 

and  was  used  from  the  beginning  of  the  first  century  B.C.  to 
the  middle  of  the  second  century.  Examples  are  very  numer- 
ous, one  of  the  most  accessible  being  in  the  house  of  Germani- 
cus  on  the  Palatine. 

Opus  testaceum  or  latericium.  This  is  concrete  faced  with 
kiln-dried  brick.  Therefore,  when  the  term  latericium  is  used, 
it  is  to  be  understood  as  referring  to  lateres  cocti,  equivalent  to 
testae,  and  not  to  lateres  crudi.  There  are  no  examples  of  fac- 


BUILDING   MATERIALS   AND   METHODS.  29 

ing  with  sun-dried  brick.  This  method  of  construction  with 
brick  facing  was  the  one  most  extensively  employed  throughout 
the  imperial  period. 

The  bricks l  vary  in  size,  the  ordinary  dimensions  being  from 
0.20  to  0.62  metre  in  length,  and  from  2  to  6  centimetres  in 
thickness.  They  are  either  square,  rectangular,  triangular,  or, 
when  made  from  broken  tiles,  irregular.  (See  p.  24.)  In 
simple  facings  the  triangular  shape  was  regularly  employed, 
but  at  intervals  single  courses  of  large  square  tiles  were  intro- 
duced, apparently  to  strengthen  the  cohesiveness  of  the  mass. 
In  vaults,  arches,  and  corners,  square  or  rectangular  bricks 
were  most  frequently  used. 

While  it  is  true  that  a  wall  was  rarely,  if  ever,  built  of  solid 
brick,  but  always  with  a  concrete  filling,  the  structural  value  of 
each  part  varied  widely.  For  instance,  in  a  wall  60  centimetres 
thick,  the  structural  importance  of  the  facing  would  be  very 
slight,  while  in  a  wall  30  centimetres  thick,  a  facing  of  the 
same  dimensions  would  amount  to  about  half  the  total  volume 
of  the  wall,  and  be  an  extremely  important  element.  The 
most  perfect  opus  testaceum  belongs  to  the  time  of  Nero  and 
the  first  years  of  the  Flavian  emperors,  and  is  characterized  by 
the  thinness  of  the  cement  bed  and  the  thickness  of  the  bricks. 
After  this  time  the  deterioration  in  the  work  may  be  traced  by 
a  gradual  increase  in  the  thickness  of  the  cement  bed  and  a 
decrease  in  that  of  the  bricks.  The  relative  dimensions  of  the 
two  and  the  character  of  the  brick  itself  make  it  possible  to 
date  construction  of  this  sort  with  a  considerable  degree  of 
accuracy,  even  without  the  direct  evidence  of  the  stamps. 
One  of  the  finest  examples  of  brickwork  in  Rome  is  to  be  seen 
in  the  arches  of  Nero's  extension  of  the  aqua  Claudia  (p.  99) 
on  the  Caelian,  although  this  seems  to  be  later  than  Nero. 

Opus  mixtum.  This  modern  term  is  used  to  describe  a  method 
of  construction  which  came  into  use  at  the  end  of  the  third 
century,  in  which  the  ordinary  facing  of  opus  testaceum  is 

iVitr.  ii.  3;  ii.  8.  9-20. 


30  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  EOME. 

interrupted  at  intervals  by  courses  of  rectangular  tufa  blocks, 
about  26  centimetres  long  and  10  deep.  The  earliest  example 
of  this  work  in  Rome  is  said  to  be  in  the  wall  of  the  circus  of 
Maxentius,  built  about  310  A.D.  ;  but  frequent  examples  have 
been  found  in  Pompeii.1 

All  these  facings  were  covered  with  plaster,  so  that  there 
was  no  visible  indication  of  the  character  of  the  wall  behind. 

As  the  tufa  or  brick  had  to  be  laid  at  the  same  time  as  the 
semifluid  concrete  backing,  it  was  often  necessary,  where  the 
wall  was  of  any  considerable  thickness,  to  build  a  wooden  cas- 
ing to  prevent  the  facing  from  being  pushed  outward  by  the 
pressure  of  the  concrete.  This  was  done  in  somewhat  the  same 
manner  as  in  the  case  of  the  massive  unfaced  foundations,  but 
on  a  much  smaller  scale  and  more  easily. 

The  foundations  of  temples  were  usually  made  of  a  massive 
outer  wall  of  opus  quadratum,  and  the  inner  space  was  then 
filled  solid  with  concrete.  In  such  cases  the  stone  wall  was  in 
itself  strong  enough  to  resist  the  pressure  of  the  concrete  until 
it  had  set.  In  many  cases  this  concrete  core  was  entirely  un- 
necessary, as  it  had  ordinarily  nothing  but  the  floor  of  the  cella 
to  support. 

The  most  striking  feature  of  Roman  architecture  during  the 
imperial  period  was  the  use  of  the  vault  or  dome  in  such 
enormous  structures  as  the  baths  or  the  basilica  of  Constantine. 
The  great  strength  of  Roman  concrete  was  the  principal  reason 
for  the  development  of  this  method  of  covering  very  large  halls, 
but  it  is  a  mistake  to  eliminate  entirely,  as  has  sometimes 
been  done,  the  importance  of  the  brick  relieving  arches  which 
form,  as  it  were,  the  skeleton  of  the  vault.  It  is  manifestly 
almost  impossible  to  arrive  at  complete  architectural  analyses 
of  these  vaults  in  most  cases,  and  hence  their  precise  character 
has  been  the  subject  of  much  dispute.  Very  strong  complicated 
scaffolding  and  centring  must  have  been  necessary  in  building 

1  Mau-Kelsey,  Pompeii,  its  Life  and  Art,  New  York,  1899,  37-38. 


BUILDING   MATERIALS   AND   METHODS.  31 

the  system  of  brick  arches  and  in  supporting  the  concrete  until 
it  had  set.  After  this  had  taken  place,  the  whole  vault  was 
practically  a  solid  mass,  and  lateral  thrust  and  pressure  were 
reduced  to  a  minimum. 

Sun-dried  brick  (lateres  crudi1).  While  this  material  has  no 
present  importance,  since  nothing  remains  of  buildings  so  con- 
structed, it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  during  the  republic 
and  even  later  the  ordinary  houses  in  Rome,  as  well  as  some 
public  buildings,  were  built  of  crude  brick  and  wooden  framing. 
Their  unsubstantial  character  is  plainly  shown  by  the  reports 
in  classical  writers  of  the  great  destruction  wrought  by  fire, 
water,  slight  earthquake  shocks,  and  natural  decay. 

Plaster  or  stucco  (tectorium2).  As  has  been  said,  concrete 
walls  faced  in  these  various  ways  were  regularly  covered  with 
plaster  or  stucco  of  varying  thickness.  Not  infrequently  walls 
of  opus  quadratuui  were  treated  in  the  same  way,  and  in  later 
times  even  marble  surfaces  were  coated  with  a  marble  stucco, 
in  order  that  pigments  might  be  more  easily  applied.  The 
finest  kind  of  stucco  was  called  opus  albarium  or  caementum 
marmoreum,  and  was  made  of  lime  and  powdered  white  marble, 
water  or  milk,  and  some  albuminous  substance.  When  properly 
applied  it  produced  a  surface  in  no  way  inferior  to  that  of 
marble  itself.  Other  kinds  of  cement  were  made  of  inferior 
materials,  one  of  them,  which  was  much  used  for  lining  water 
channels  on  account  of  its  hardness,  being  made  of  pozzolana 
and  pounded  pottery  (testae  tunsae)  and  called  opus  signinum. 

iVitr.  ii.  3.  «  Vitr.  vii.  2-6. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
HISTORY  OF  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  CITY. 

BY  comparing  the  testimony  of  classical  literature  with 
archaeological  evidence  and  physical  conditions,  the  growth  of 
the  city  of  Rome  has  been  traced  from  its  beginning  through 
certain  stages.  According  to  the  view  that  has  been  generally 
held  six  periods  are  to  be  distinguished  in  the  topographical 
history  of  the  city ;  namely,  (1)  the  Palatine  city,  (2)  the  Septi- 
montium  or  "  City  of  the  Seven  Hills,"  (3)  the  city  of  the  Four 
Eegions,  (4)  the  so-called  Servian  city,  (5)  the  open  city  of  the 
Fourteen  Eegions,  and  (6)  the  city  of  Aurelian.  Recently,  however, 
objections  have  been  raised  against  the  existence  of  the  first 
two  of  these  stages,  and  a  different  theory  of  the  origin  of  the 
city  has  been  brought  forward,  which  will  be  stated  on  p.  44. 

The  Palatine  City.  —  The  current  view,1  based  on  the  unan- 
imous testimony  of  ancient  literature,  assigns  to  the  Pala- 
tine 2  hill  the  first  settlement  of  that  part  of  the  Latin  stock 
which  afterward  assumed  the  name  of  Romans.  Physiographi- 
cally  this  hill  was  better  adapted  for  such  a  settlement  than  any 
other  in  the  neighborhood,  for  its  complete  isolation  made  its 
defence  easy,  and  the  nearness  of  the  Tiber  gave  its  settlers  all 
the  advantages  of  river  communication  with  the  sea  and  with 
the  interior.  Its  area  was  about  10  hectares  (25  acres),  which 
corresponded  closely  to  that  of  the  other  Latin  settlements  in  the 
Campagna.  In  shape  the  hill  is  an  irregular  rectangle,  but  at 
first  it  was  probably  more  nearly  square.  The  length  of  the 
sides  averages  about  450  metres. 

1  For  the  most  recent  review  of  the  whole  question  of  the  Palatine  and 
earlier  stages  in  the  city's  growth,  cf.  Binder,  Die  Plebs,  Leipzig,  1909,  1-170. 

2  Schneider,  Mitt.  1895,  160-175. 

32 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   CITY.       33 

The  first  settlers  came  from  the  north,  and  while  they  were 
already  divided  politically  into  the  three  tribes  of  Ramnes, 
Tities,  and  Luceres,  their  settlement,  and  then  the  hill  itself, 
was  called  Palatium.1  This  substantive  form  of  its  name  differ- 
entiates this  hill  from  all  the  others  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Tiber,  except  the  Capitolium.  This  latter  name,  however,  was 
of  comparatively  late  origin,  and  was  applied  to  the  hill  after 
it  had  really  become  the  capitol  of  the  extended  city.  The 
word  Palatium,  probably  connected  with  the  root  pa  which 
appears  in  pasco  and  Pales,2  seems  to  have  been  applied  in  its 
earliest  and  narrowest  sense  to  the  settlement  on  the  eastern 
half  of  the  hill,  while  the  western  part  was  called  Oermalus,3 
which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  originally  the  Palatine 
community  was  divided  into  two  hamlets,  occupying  the  two 
parts  of  the  hill.  However  this  may  be,  in  its  historical 
development  the  community  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  unit, 
although  the  name  Cermalus  was  used  in  the  days  of  Cicero 
and  Livy.4  As  a  part  of  the  Palatine  city,  although  outside 
its  wall,  must  be  reckoned  also  the  ridge  or  spur  stretch- 
ing out  from  the  middle  of  the  north  side  of  the  Palatine 
toward  the  Oppian.  This  was  called  the  Velia,5  and  always 
retained  its  distinctive  name,  although  more  frequently  re- 
ferred to  in  literature  as  the  summa  Sacra  via.6  At  some 
time,  either  in  this  first  period  or  that  which  followed,  the 
settlement  came  to  be  known  as  Euma,  Eoma,  probably  from  the 
Etruscan  gentile  name  ruma*  and  its  inhabitants  as  Eomani, 


1  BC.  1881,  63-73;  Jordan,  I.  1. 180-183;  Varro,  LL.  v.  53;  Fest.  220;  Serv. 
ad  Aen.  viii.  51 ;  Dionys.  i.  32;  ii.  1. 

2  This  etymology  is  disputed.    Cf.  JJ.  1907,345;  Walde,  Lot.  Etymolog. 
Worterbuch. 

«  Gilbert,  I.  40-41,  notes ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  35-36 ;  Plut.  Rom.  3 ;  Varro,  LL.  v.54. 
4Cic.  ad  Alt.  iv.  3.  3;  Liv.  xxxiii.  26. 

«Liv.  ii.  7.  6;  Asc.  in  Pis.  52;  Gilbert,  I.  38-39,  101-109;  Jordan,  I.  2.  416. 
«  Solin.  i.  23. 

7  Schulze,  Zur  Oeschichte  lateinischer  Eigennamen,  Berlin,  1904,  218  ff., 
580;  CR.  1906,  411 ;  Pais,  Legends,  55. 


34  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

The  fortification  of  such  a  hill  was  an  easy  matter.  Where 
the  cliff  was  at  all  abrupt,  —  and  it  was  decidedly  so  at  almost 
every  point,  —  it  was  scarped  down  for  about  13  or  14  metres, 
and  there  an  artificial  shelf  was  cut.  On  this  shelf,  and  resting 
against  the  side  of  the  hill,  a  tufa  wall  of  opus  quadratum  was 
built,  which  rose  somewhat  above  the  top  of  the  hill,  so  as  to 
form  a  sort  of  breastwork.  It  is  possible  that  some  fragments 
of  this  earliest  wall  are  still  standing  (p.  110). 

To  the  Palatine  settlement  all  Roman  and  Greek  legends l  of 
the  founding  of  the  city  go  back.  On  this  hill  were  the  casa 
Komuli,2  or  hut  of  the  mythical  founder ;  the  Lupercal,3  or  cave 
of  the  she-wolf  which  suckled  him ;  the  sacred  cornel  cherry  tree,4 
which  sprang  from  the  lance  cast  by  Romulus  from  the  Aventine 
to  the  Cermalus ;  and  the  Mundus,  or  augural  centre  of  the  city- 
templum.  All  these,  although  of  later  origin,  bore  witness  to 
the  antiquity  and  validity  of  the  legend  which  assigned  the  be- 
ginning of  Rome  to  this  spot.  In  the  primitive  Roman  concep- 
tion of  a  city,  two  things  were  essential,  the  dwelling  of  the  king 
and  a  shrine  where  the  sacred  fire  could  be  kept.  In  the  Pala- 
tine city,  the  casa  Romuli  was  naturally  the  representative  of 
the  former,  and  although  we  are  distinctly  told  that  the  temple 
of  Vesta  was  outside  of  the  pomerium  of  the  early  city,  it  is 
at  least  a  plausible  hypothesis  that  a  primitive  Italian  deity, 
Caca,5  perhaps  a  goddess  of  the  hearth,  had  a  shrine  on  the  hill, 
and  was  displaced  by  Vesta  at  a  later  period  (p.  133). 

In  ritual,  the  festival  of  the  Lupercalia,  celebrated  on  the 
fifteenth  of  February,  continued  to  keep  the  beginnings  of 
the  city  before  the  minds  of  the  Romans  down  to  the  end  of  the 

i  Pais,  Legends,  43-59. 

2Plut.  Rom.  2J;  Dionys.  i.  79;  Notit.  Reg.  x. ;  Gilbert,  I.  48. 

8Dionys.  i.  32,  79;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  viii.  90;  Ov.  Fast.  ii.  421;  Cic.  ad  Fam. 
vii.  20.  1 ;  Gilbert,  I.  53-59. 

4Plut.  Rom.  3. 

6  Serv.  ad  Aen.  viii.  190 ;  Reseller,  Lexikon  der  Mythologie,  i.  842 ;  Mitt.  1895, 
163;  Wissowa,  Religion  der  Romer,  144;  CR.  1905,  233;  De  Sanctis,  Storia 
dei  Romani,  ii.  524-^525.  Cf .,  however,  University  of  Michigan  Studies,  iv.  234. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   CITY.       35 

western  empire.1  At  this  festival  the  Luperci,  a  college  of 
priests  whose  institution  dated  back  to  the  earliest  times, 
dressed  in  goatskins  and  waving  leather  thongs,  ran  round  the 
Palatine  along  a  line  said  to  be  that  of  the  ancient  pomerium, 
thus  performing  the  ceremony  of  purification.  The  rules  of 
augural  procedure  required  that  the  site  destined  for  a  city 
should  be  inaugurated  as  a  templum,2  or  rectangular  area, 
marked  off  from  the  ager  publicus,  or  outside  territory  under 
the  control  of  the  city-state.  Within  this  templum  the 
auspices  could  be  taken,  and  the  civil  authority,  in  distinction 
from  the  military,  was  supreme.  The  formal  founding  of  a 
city  is  thus  described  by  Varro : 3  — 

Oppida  condebant  in  Latio  Etrusco  ritu  ut  multa,  id  est  iunctis  bobus 
tauro  et  vacca  interiors  aratro  circumagebant  sulcum.  Hoc  faciebant 
religionis  causa  die  auspicato,  ut  fossa  et  muro  essent  muniti.  Terrain 
unde  exsculpserant/ossa?n  vocabant  et  introrsus  iactam  murum  :  post  ea 
qui  fiebat  orbis,  urbis  principium,  qui  quod  erat  post  murum,  postmoerium 
dictum,  eoque  auspicia  urbana  finiuntur. 

The  furrow  represented  the  moat;  and  the  earth  thrown  up 
by  the  plough,  the  wall  of  the  city.  The  line  urbis  principium, 
or  pomerium,  behind  (i.e.  within)  the  mums,  marked  the  limit 
of  the  inaugurated  district  within  which  auspices  could  be 
taken.  The  word  pomerium,4  which  first  meant  the  boundary 
line  itself  (certis  spatiis  interiecti  lapides),5  was  soon  transferred 

iDionys.  i.  80;  Jordan,  I.  1.  162;  Marquardt,  Romische  Staatsverwaltung, 
iii.  438-446;  Gilbert,  I.  83-88. 

2Liv.  v.  52;  Varro,  LL.  vi.  53;  v.  33;  Gell.  xiii.  14;  Nissen,  Templum,  6  ff. 

8  LL.  v.  143. 

4  Mommsen,  Das  Begriff  des  Pomeriums,  Hermes,  1876,  24-50 ;  Rdm.  For- 
schungen,  ii.  23-41;  F.  Wehr,  Das  Palatinische  Pomerium,  Briix,  1895; 
O.  Richter,  Die  alteste  Wohnstdtte  des  Rom.  Volkes.  Prog.,  Berlin,  1891 ; 
Becker,  Topographic,  92-108;  Jordan,  I.  1. 163-175;  Gilbert,  I.  114-134;  Hul- 
sen,  Mitt.  1892,  293;  Platner,  The  Pomerium  and  Roma  Quadrata,  AJP. 
1901,  420-425;  Pais,  Legends,  224-234;  Carter,  .Roma  Quadrata  and  the 
Septimontium,  AJA.  1908, 172-183,  and  The  Pomerium,  Rome,  1909 ;  Melanges, 
1908,  278-280. 

«Tac.  JlnH.xii.24. 


36  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

to  the  strip  of  land  between  this  line  and  the  actual  city  wall, 
and  was  then  used  in  both  senses.1  At  a  later  period  it  seems 
to  have  been  still  further  extended  in  application  and  to  have 
been  incorrectly  used  of  the  strip  on  both  sides  of  the  wall. 
This  is  plainly  the  understanding  of  Livy  when  he  writes  :2  — 

Pomerium,  verbi  vim  solam  intuentes,  postmoerium  interpretantur 
esse:  est  autem  magis  circamoerium,  locus,  quern  in  condendis  urbibus 
quondam  Etrusci,  qua  murum  ducturi  erant,  certis  circa  terminis  inaugu- 
rate consecrabant,  ut  neque  interiors  parte  aedificia  moenibus  c6ntinua- 
rentur,  quae  nunc  vulgo  etiam  coniungunt,  et  extrinsecus  puri  aliquid  ab 
humano  cultu  pateret  soli.  Hoc  spatium,  quod  neque  habitari  neque 
arari  fas  erat,  non  magis  quod  post  murum  esset,  quam  quod  murus  post 
id,  pomerium  Romani  apellarunt. 

These  discrepancies  may  be  due  to  a  very  natural  confusion 
of  the  ceremonial  murus  with  the  actual  city  wall  at  various 
periods. 

In  the  case  of  the  Palatine  city,  existing  remains  of  later 
date  show  that  the  first  wall  must  have  been  built  on  the  slope 
of  the  hill,  but  Tacitus  describes  in  the  following  passage3 
the  line  which  in  his  day  was  regarded  as  that  of  the  original 
pomerium,  marked  out  by  Romulus :  — 

Sed  initium  condendi  et  quod  pomerium  Romulus  posuerit,  noscere 
baud  absurdum  reor.  Igitur  a  foro  boario,  ubi  aereum  tauri  simulacrum 
aspicimus,  quia  id  genus  animalium  aratro  subditur,  sulcus  designandi 
oppidi  coeptus,  ut  magnam  Herculis  aram  amplecteretur ;  inde  certis 
spatiis  interiecti  lapides  per  imamontis  Palatini  ad  aram  Consi,  mox  curias 
veteres,  turn  ad  sacellum  Larum  ;  forumque  Romanum  et  Capitolium  non 
a  Romulo,  sed  a  Tito  Tatio  additum  urbi  credidere. 

The  site  of  the  ara  Herculis  (p.  397)  is  known  to  have  been 
within  a  very  short  distance  of  the  present  church  of  S.  Maria 
in  Cosmedin,  northwest  of  the  northwest  end  of  the  Circus 
Maximus.  The  ara  Oonsi  (p.  404)  is  also  known  to  have 
stood  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  spina  of  the  circus.  With  al- 

1  Dionys.  i.  88;  Jordan,  I.  1.  163;  Gilbert,  I.  114-134;  Mitt.  1892, 293. 

2  i.  44.  «  Ann.  xii.  24. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   CITY.       37 

most  equal  certainty  the  Ouriae  veteres  (p.  130)  is  to  be  placed 
at  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  Palatine,  and  the  sacellum 
Larum  (p.  131)  near  the  northwestern  corner.  This  can  hardly 
have  been  the  line  of  an  original  Palatine  pomerium,  which  can 
only  be  a  matter  of  conjecture,  and  Tacitus  is  evidently  describ- 
ing the  course  followed  by  the  Luperci  in  his  day.1 

At  three  points  in  the  circuit,2  the  plough  was  carefully  lifted 
up  and  carried  for  a  few  feet.  These  breaks  in  the  furrow 
marked  the  position  of  the  three  gates  required  for  every 
settlement  by  Etruscan  ritual.3  Varro  says  that  one  of  these 
gates  of  the  Palatine  city  was  the  porta  Mugonia,  or  vetus  porta 
Palati,  on  the  north  side  of  the  hill,  near  the  site  of  the  tem- 
ple of  luppiter  Stator.  This  is  shown  to  have  been  its  real 
position  by  the  contour  of  the  ground  as  well  as  by  the  remains 
of  the  pavement  of  a  street  (p.  165)  leading  up  the  hill  at  this 
point,  which,  although  of  a  much  later  period,  probably  rep- 
resented the  early  road.  It  is  clear  that  cattle  would  have 
been  driven  in  and  out  at  this  gate,  and  Varro  derives  the  name 
from  their  lowing  (mugitus).  The  location  of  the  second  gate  is 
unknown,  but  it  may  have  been  somewhere  on  the  south  side, 
perhaps  near  the  scalae  Caci.  The  third  gate  is  described  by 
Varro4  as  follows :  — 

Alteram  Romanulam  ab  Roma  dictam,  quae  habet  gradus  in  nova  via 
ad  Volupiae  sacellum ; 

and  by  Festus,5  who  says,  — 

Porta  Romana  instituta  est  a  Romulo  infimo  clivo  Victoriae  qui  locus 
gradibus  in  quadram  formatus  est. 

A  gate 6  at  the  foot  of  the  clivus  Victoriae  (p.  138)  must  have 

I . 

*  Plainer,  The  Pomerium  and  Roma  Quadrata,  AJP.  1901,  420-425. 

2  Varro,  LL.  v.  142;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  i.  422. 

*LL.\.  164. 

4  LL.  v.  164 ;  Dionys.  ii.  50 ;  Fest.  144 ;  Solin.  i.  24.  5  Fest.  262. 

•Jordan,  I.I.  176;  Gilbert,  I.  112, 121;  II.  114-116;  BC.  1881,  69-70;  Ann. 
d.  1st.  1884,  203-204;  Melanges,  1908,  256-258.  The  old  explanation  of  porta 
Romanula  as  the  river-gate,  based  on  a  connection  between  Roma  and  a  sup- 
posed rumon,  a  river,  must  probably  be  given  up  (cf.  p.  33). 


38  TOPOGEAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

been  on  the  west  side  of  the  hill,  probably  not  far  from  the 
church  of  S.  Teodoro,  and  this  was  undoubtedly  the  porta 
Eomanula  or  Eomana. 

The  Palatine  city  was  called  in  later  times  Koma  quadrata,  a 
name  which  is  explained  by  Solinus l  (from  Varro)  as  follows :  — 

Dictaque  primum  est  Roma  quadrata,  quod  ad  aequilibrium  foret  posita. 
Ea  incipit  a  silva  quae  est  in  area  Apollinis,  et  ad  supercilium  scalarum 
Caci  habet  terminum,  ubi  tugurium  fuit  Faustuli. 

The  line  a  silva  .  .  .  ad  supercilium 2  was  the  northeast  and  south- 
west diagonal  of  a  trapezoidal  area  which  Varro  evidently 
thought  had  been  that  inclosed  within  the  walls  of  the  Palatine 
city.  Koma  quadrata  was  also,  and  first,  perhaps,  used  in  the 
sense  of  Mundus,  or  the  receptacle  'at  the  centre  of  the  templum, 
for  Festus 3  states,  on  the  authority  of  Ennius :  — 

Quadrata  Roma  in  Palatio  ante  templum  Apollinis  dicitur,  ubi  reposita 
sunt  quae  solent  boni  ominis  gratia  in  urbe  condenda  adhiberi,  quia  saxo 
munitus  est  initio  in  specie  m  quadratam. 

This  Mundus 4  is  supposed  to  be  represented  upon  a  fragment 
of  the  Marble  Plan,  where  a  small  four-sided  structure  of 
stone,  raised  above  the  ground  and  approached  by  steps  on  two 
sides,  stands  in  the  area  Apollinis. 

The  Septimontium,  or  City  of  the  Seven  Hills.  —  The  direction 
in  which  the  Palatine5  city  should  expand  was  indicated  by 
political  and  topographical  conditions.  There  were  other  small 
settlements  on  some  of  the  surrounding  hills,  and  the  second 
period  of  the  city's  history  was  that  of  union  with  such  hamlets 
on  the  adjacent  spurs  of  the  Esquiline  and  the  Caelian.  Topo- 
graphical conditions  rendered  it  almost  certain  that  the  control 

1  i.  17.    Cf.  also  Melanges,  1908,  271-278. 

2  Mitt.  1896,  210-212;  AJP.  1901,  420-425;  Pais,  Legends,  223-234,  257-263. 
"258. 

*MM.  1896,  202-204;  Pais,  Legends,  229-234;  Binder,  Die  Plebs,  43-71. 
5  For  a  hypothetical  urbs  trimontialis  between  the  Palatine  city  and  the 
Septimontium,  see  Melanges,  1908,  249-282. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   CITY.       39 


of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Palatine  should  extend  along  the  ridge 
of  the  Velia  and  across  the  eastern  end  of  the  Forum  valley,  and 
that  further  expansion  should  take  place  up  the  slopes  of  the 
Esquiliue.  The  same  conditions 
obtained  with  respect  to  the 
Caelian,  but  to  a  somewhat  less 
marked  degree. 

Aside  from  the  direct  testi- 
mony of  these  topographical  con- 
ditions, evidence  as  to  the  extent 
of  this  second  city  is  derived  from 
the  festival  of  the  Septimontium 
itself,  and  the  scattered  passages 
in  Latin  literature  which  refer  to 
it  or  to  the  city.  As  the  Luper- 
calia  preserved  in  ritual  a  remi- 
niscence of  the  first  Rome,  so  the 
Septimontium  is  believed  to  have 
preserved  one  of  the  succeeding  stage.  This  festival,1  in  some 
calendars  marked  simply  as  Agonia  or  Agonalia,  was  celebrated 
on  the  llth  of  December,  even  during  the  empire,  and  consisted 
in  part  of  a  lustral  procession  round  the  Palatine  and  Esquiline 
hills,  thus  corresponding  to  the  Lupercalia. 

Varro*  states  that  the  name  Septimontium  was  given  to  the 
city  before  it  was  called  Rome,  but  says  that  the  hills  were 
those  which  the  Servian  wall  afterward  inclosed.  The  real 
extent  of  this  city  is  supposed  to  be  described  by  Festus8  and 
Paulus  Diaconus,4  who  tell  us  that  the  seven  monies  were  the 
three  parts  of  the  Palatine:  Palatium,  Cermalus,  and  Velia; 
the  two  spurs  of  the  Esquiliue :  Oppius  and  Cispius ;  the  north- 


FIG.  4.  —  THE  SEPTIMONTIUM. 


!Fest.  340;  Macrob.  i.  16.  6;  Jordan,  I.  1.  199;  Mommsen,  Romisches 
Staatsrecht,  iii.  1.  113-114;  OIL.  i.»  p.  336. 

2  LL.  v.  41 ;  Wissowa,  Satura  Viadrina,  Breslau,  1896,  1-19;  Plainer,  CP. 
1906,  69-80;  Pais,  Legends,  234-241. 

8  348.  «341. 


40          TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

era  spur  of  the  Caelian,  which  was  called  Sucusa;  and  the 
Fagutal. 

Pagutal  is  a  substantive  form  from  fagutalis,  and  designated 
a  part  of  the  Esquiline  ridge,  between  the  Oppius  proper  and 
the  extreme  western  slope,  which  was  known  at  a  later  period 
as  the  Carinae  (Fig.  4).  Here  was  a  grove  of  beech  trees,  the 
lucus  Pagutalis,1  in  which  was  a  shrine  of  Jupiter,  worshipped 
under  the  name  of  luppiter  Fagutalis.  Sucusa  was  confused 
with  Subura,  and  so  appears  in  our  sources.  The  etymology 2 
and  origin  of  the  words  Oppius  and  Oispius  is  obscure,  but  they 
may  have  been  derived  from  the  clans  dwelling  at  these  points. 
They  were  displaced  in  ordinary  usage  by  the  collective  term 
Esquiliae,  which,  as  its  form  indicates,  was  a  settlement-name, 
perhaps  equivalent  to  ex-quiliae.  The  common  adjective  esqm- 
linus,  in  mons  esquilimts,  would  then  be  analogous  to  inquilinus, 
1  an  inhabitant,'  and  it  is  a  plausible  hypothesis  that  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Palatium,  inquilini,  applied  the  term  Esquiliae 
to  the  settlements  on  the  opposite  hills,  which  afterward  became 
a  part  of  the  city.  Sucusa  is  probably  also  an  ancient  Italian 
settlement-name. 

The  city  formed  by  the  union  of  these  topographical  units 
was  undoubtedly  surrounded  by  fortifications;  that  is,  the 
existing  wall  of  the  Palatium  was  connected  with  the  walls  of 
the  newly  annexed  hamlets.  No  remains  of  these  connecting 
walls  have  been  found,  and  it  would  be  remarkable  in  the 
highest  degree  if  they  had  survived  the  great  changes  of 
centuries  in  the  very  centre  of  the  city.  An  obscure  passage 
in  Varro 3  mentions  a  murus  terreus  Oarinarum,  evidently  an 
embankment  of  earth  on  the  Carinae,  and  this  has  been 
thought  by  some 4  to  be  the  wall  of  the  Septimontium ;  and 
on  the  supposition  that  it  ran  along  the  bank  of  the  brook 

1  Varro,  LL.  \.  152;  BC.  1905,  189-232. 

2  Jordan,  I.  1.  183-188;  3. 254;  Gilbert,  I.  166-169.  «  LL.  v.  48. 

4  Schneider,  Mitt.  1895,  167-178 ;  Richter,  Top.2  38  n.  Cf.  also  Melanges, 
1908,  274-276. 


HISTORY  OF  THE   DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   CITY-       41 

to  the  Forum  valley,  the  temple  of  Janus  (p.  191),  which 
has  been  the  subject  of  much  discussion,  has  been  explained 
as  the  portae  belli  in  this  wall.  Further  evidence  that  the 
second  period  in  the  city's  development  was  the  union  of 
the  Palatine  and  Oppius-Cispius  group  of  settlements,  is 
sometimes  thought  to  be  found  in  the  annual  struggle  for 
the  October  horse,  described  by  Festus,1  in  which  the  Sacra- 
vienses  represent  the  Palatini,  and  the  Suburanenses  their 
early  neighbors  and  rivals. 

The  City  of  the  Four  Regions.  —  Between  the  Septimontium 
and  the  city  that,  having  been  inclosed  by  the  Servian  wall, 
became  the  Rome  of  the  republic,  intervened  a  period  of 
development  to  which  it  has  been  found  convenient  to  give 
the  name  of  the  Four  Regions,  from  its  most  distinctive 
feature.  In  consequence  of  the  reforms  which  tradition 
ascribes  to  Servius  Tullius,  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of 
Rome  were  divided  into  four  tribes  (tribus),  which,  although 
purely  political  divisions  so  far  as  our  knowledge  of  them 
extends,  were  doubtless  based  on  the  local  division  into  four 
regions,2  belonging  to  the  previous  period.  This  local  divi- 
sion remained  in  force  until  the  time  of  Augustus. 

The  expansion  of  the  Septimontium  took  place  in  two  direc- 
tions, north  and  south.  On  the  north  the  added  area  com- 
prised the  small  Viminal3  hill,  next  to  the  Cispius,  and  the 
much  larger  Quirinal  immediately  beyond,  with  the  adjacent 
Capitolium.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  these  two  hills  were  not 
properly -called  montes,4  but  colles,  the  distinguishing  adjectives 
Quirinalis  and  Viminalis  being  added  afterward,  and  that  the 
settlers  in  this  district  were  called  collini,  not  montani.  The 
collis  Quirinalis  derived  its  name5  from  a  shrine  of  the  god 

1 178.  2  Varro,  LL.  v.  56.  «  Jordan,  I.  3.  372, 394. 

4  For  apparent  exceptions  cf.  Floras,  i.  7  (13),  16;  Eutropius,  i.  7  (6) ;  Clau- 
dian,  de  sezt.  cons.  Hon.  543;  CP.  1907,  463-464. 
6  Jordan,  I.  1.  180. 


42          TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

Quirinus,  who  appears  to  have  been  worshipped  there  as 
well  as  on  the  Palatine.  The  settlement  on  this  hill  has 
usually  been  regarded  as  largely  made  up  of  Sabine  elements, 
but  this  traditional  view  has  been  vigorously  combated.1  Vimi- 


„     "Wall  and  line  of  Pomerium 
___Limits  of  the  Regions 

O  1,2,  Sacraria  Argeorum.  Site  of 
those  bracketed  is  conjectural 

FIG.  5. —  THE  CITY  OP  THE  FOUR  REGIONS. 

nalis  is  of  coiirse  derived  from  vimina  '  osiers,'  which  grew 
abundantly  in  this  region. 

On  the  south  the  rest  of  the  Caelian,  comprising  the  Caelius 
proper  and  the  Ceroliensis,  was  added  to  the. area  of  the  Septi- 

1  Binder,  Die  Plebs,  139-170;  Mommsen,  History  of  Home,  L  85. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   CITY.       43 

montium.  A  line  of  fortification  must  have  surrounded  the 
city  of  the  Four  Regions,  and  its  probable  course  may  be 
traced  by  the  contour  of  the  ground.  Beginning  at  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  Capitoline,  it  ran  northeast  along  the  edge 
of  the  cliffs  of  this  hill  and  of  the  Quirinal  to  a  point  where, 
bending  at  a  right  angle,  it  ran  southeast  and  south  across  the 
Quirinal,  the  Viminal,  and  the  Esquiline,  just  where  the  val- 
leys begin  which  descend  between  these  hills.  At  the  south- 
east corner  of  the  Caelian  it  turned  to  the  southwest  round 
the  hill,  and  thence  ran  northwest  to  the  Palatine  and  back 
to  the  Capitoline  (Fig.  5). 

The  four  regions  are  described  by  Varro 1  as  the  Suburana, 
the  Esquilina,  the  Collina,  and  the  Palatina.  Regio  I,  Subu- 
rana, comprised  the  Sucusa,  the  Ceroliensis,  and  the  Caelius ; 
Regio  II,  Esquilina,  the  Oppius  and  the  Cispius ;  Regio  III, 
Collina,  the  Quirinal  and  the  Viminal ;  Regio  IV,  Palatina,  the 
Palatium,  the  Cermalus,  and  the  Velia.  These  four  regions  met 
at  a  common  point,  probably  near  the  Velia.  The  Capitoline, 
although  a  part  of  the  city,  seems  not  to  have  been  included  in 
any  one  of  the  regions,  perhaps  because  it  was  from  the  begin- 
ning regarded  as  the  citadel  and  religious  centre  of  the  whole 
city,  and  not  as  a  local  division  or  part.2  This  is  implied  by 
the  very  name  Oapitolium,  which  was  deliberately  given  to  the 
hill  as  the  Capitol,  arid  was  not  derived  from  any  existing 
settlement.  The  pomerium  coincided  with  the  wall,  having 
been  extended  with  each  enlargement  of  the  city's  area,  but 
after  this  time  it  was  not  extended  again  until  Sulla's  dictator- 
ship. 

Varro3  is  the  chief  authority  for  this  division  into  regions, 
and  in  the  same  connection  he  describes  the  shrines  known  as 
the  sacraria  Argeorum,4  and  the  ceremonial  festival  connected 

l  LL.  v.  45.  2  Jordan,  I.  1.  180.    Cf.  also  Melanges,  1908,  272-274. 

8  LL.  v.  45^54. 

<Richter,  Top*  9-10,  38-40;  Gilbert,  II.  329-375;  Jordan,  II.  237-290,  599- 
604;  Mommsen,  Staatsrecht,  Hi.  122-126;  Marquardt,  Staatsverwaltung ,  lit. 


44  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

with  them.  His  incomplete  and  somewhat  obscure  account 
distributes  twenty-seven  of  these  sacraria  among  the  four 
regions,  and  describes  the  position  of  twelve  with  such  minute- 
ness that  all  but  one  of  them  can  be  located  with  reasonable 
certainty.  These  eleven,  and  also  the  conjectural  sites  of  thir- 
teen others,  are  marked  on  Fig.  5,  making  twenty -four  in  all, 
or  six  in  'each  region.  There  are  no  means  of  determining  the 
location  of  the  remaining  three.  The  shrines  themselves  were 
called  Argei,  a  principibus  qui  cum  Ercule  Argivo  venerunt 
Romam,  and  the  word  is  evidently  a  Latinization  of  'Apyeioi. 
The  festival  at  these  shrines  took  place  on  March  16th  and 
17th,  and  on  May  15th.  On  the  latter  date,  the  procession  of 
priests,  Vestals,  and  the  city  praetor,  after  visiting  all  the 
shrines  in  order,  halted  on  the  pons  Sublicius,  and  twenty- 
seven  straw  puppets,  one  for  each  shrine,  were  solemnly  cast 
into  the  Tiber.  These  puppets  were  also  called  Argei,  and  it 
is  supposed  that  at  the  festival  in  March  they  were  consecrated 
in  the  sacraria,  to  be  collected  at  the  ceremony  in  May. 

Whatever  the  meaning  and  origin  of  this  festival  may  have 
been,  it  was  probably  introduced  into  Rome  in  the  third  cen- 
tury B.C.,  and  the  topographical  details  belong  to  that  period. 
It  is  this  topographical  information  which  gives  Varro's  de- 
scription its  great  importance. 

Another  Theory  of  the  Origin  of  the  City.  —  In  opposition  to 
this  view  of  the  organic  development  of  Rome  from  a  nucleus 
on  the  Palatine,  another  theory1  has  recently  been  brought 
forward,  according  to  which  the  origin  of  the  organized  city 
was  due  to  the  union  of  hamlets  situated  on  the  different  hills. 
These  hamlets  had  been  entirely  autonomous,  and  no  one  was 

190-194;  Roscher,  Lexikon  der  Mythologie,  i.  496-500;  Studemund,  Phil.  1889, 
168-177;  Hiilsen,  RhM.  1894,  414-416;  Wissowa,  Pauly's  Real-Encyclopadie 
(art.  Argei) ;  Diels,  Sibyllinische  Blatter,  43;  BC.  1905,  196-199. 

iDegering,  Berl.  Phil.  Wochenschrift,  1903,  1646;  Kornemann,  Klio,  1905, 
88-91;  Pinza,  Mon.d.  Lincei,  1905,746-778;  Carter,  AJA.  1908,  172-183,  and 
The  Pomerium,  Rome,  1909. 


HISTORY  OF  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   CITY.       45 

distinguished  above  the  others  because  of  priority  of  settle- 
ment or  the  exercise  of  any  sort  of  hegemony.  The  festival  of 
the  Septimontium  was  a  celebration  carried  out  by  seven  of 
these  communities  in  a  state  of  mere  alliance  with  each  other, 
rather  than  as  parts  of  one  urbs.  Under  pressure  from  outside 
these  allied  settlements  finally  united,  probably  before  the  end 
of  the  seventh  century  B.C.,  losing  their  autonomy,  and  consti- 
tuting the  urbs  Roma,  corresponding  in  extent  with  that  which 
has  been  described  as  the  city  of  the  Four  Regions.  This  was 
the  Rome  of  history  down  to  the  Gallic  invasion,  when  the  so- 
called  Servian  wall  was  built  round  an  enlarged  area.  The 
belief  in  a  Palatine  city  was  of  very  late  growth,  due  entirely 
to  the  inventive  imagination  of  poets  and  historiographers, 
Greek  and  Roman,  and  without  any  foundation  in  native 
tradition. 

While  there  is  much  to  be  said  in  support  of  this  view,  it 
still  seems  on  the  whole  less  probable  than  the  other. 

The  Servian  City.1  —  Tradition  ascribes  to  Servius  Tullius 
the  building  of  the  famous  wall  which  surrounded  Rome  dur- 
ing the  historical  period,  the  remains  of  which  are  still  to  be 
seen.  These  remains,  however,  are  in  large  part  (pp.  112  ff.) 
not  earlier  than  the  fourth  century  B.C.,  belonging  to  the  period 
after  the  invasion  of  the  Gauls.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that 
this  wall  of  the  fourth  century  was  a  complete  rebuilding  of 
much  weaker  fortifications  that  had  existed  for  a  long  time, 
and  that  it  followed  in  the  main  the  earlier  line,  but  with  some 
variations.  The  evidence  of  literature  and  inscriptions  and 
the  remains  of  the  wall  itself  enable  us  to  trace  this  line2  in  its 
final  course  with  certainty  at  almost  every  point.  It  coincided 
with  the  probable  wall  of  the  city  of  the  Four  Regions  from 
the  southwest  corner  of  the  Capitoline  along  the  edge  of  the 

i  Jordan,  I.  1.  201-295;  Gilbert,  II.  258-456;  III.  H57. 

*Ann.  d.  1st.  1871,  40-85;  Jordan,  I.  1.  201-245;  5(7.1872,  225-226;  1876, 
29-30,  34-38,  121-128;  1888,  12-22;  1909,  119-121;  Merlin,  L'Aventin  dans 
I' Antiquiti,  Paris,  1906,  114-132;  NS.  1907,  504-510;  1909,  221-222. 


THE  (SO-CALLED^ 
SERVIAN  CITY 


200    300     45o 500    600  METRES 

I  T.Concordiae  VT.Vestae 

II  T.Saturni  VI  Regia 

III  Bas.  Semprcmia  VII  Fornix  Fabianus 

IV  T.Castoris  VIII  Bas-Aemilia 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    CITY.       47 

Quirinal,  but  extended  almost  a  kilometre  farther  northeast,  to 
a  point  near  the  junction  of  the  tableland  behind  the  Quirinal 
and  the  collis  hortorum,  the  present  Pincian  hill.  Thence  it 
ran  southeast  and  south  until  it  again  approached  the  line  of 
the  city  of  the  Four  Eegions  on  the  Oppius.  Following 
closely,  or  coinciding  with,  this  line  round  the  Caelian,  it 
diverged  at  the  porta  Capena,  and  inclosed  the  Aventine, 
passing  along  its  slope  to  the  northern  corner,  where  it  bent 
at  right  angles  and  continued  in  a  straight  line  to  the  Tiber, 
here  only  about  125  metres  distant  from  the  hill.  From  the 
southwestern  corner  of  the  Capitoline,  it  was  also  built  in  a 
direct  line  to  the  river.1  This  left  a  distance  of  about  300 
metres  along  the  river  bank  where  there  was  no  wall  like  that 
which  surrounded  the  rest  of  the  city.  Recent  excavations 
have  brought  to  light  the  remains  of  stone  quays  built  along 
the  bank,  and  doubtless  provided  with  a  sort  of  parapet,  which 
would  prevent  an  enemy  from  making  a  landing. 

The  area  added  to  the  city  was  in  two  sections,  that  on  the 
northeast  tableland,  stretching  back  from  the  Quirinal  and  Es- 
quiline  to  the  new  wall,2  and  that  on  the  south,  the  whole  region 
of  the  Aventine  and  the  low  ground  between  the  Palatine,  the 
Forum,  and  the  Capitoline.  A  large  part  of  this  newly  acquired 
district  was  covered  with  woods,  and  continued  to  be  so  until 
the  later  days  of  the  republic,  as  is  shown  by  Varro's3  descrip- 
tion of  the  situation  of  the  sacraria  Argeorum,  which  in  cer- 
tain parts  of  the  city,  as  on  the  Aventine  and  the  Esquiline, 
are  described  as  being  near  this  or  that  grove. 

For  much  the  greater  part  of  its  course  this  wall  was  built 
along  the  edge  of  the  cliffs  in  the  manner  of  the  Palatine  forti- 
fications, an  independent  wall  being  necessary  only  where  low 
ground  or  the  end  of  a  valley  had  to  be  crossed,  as  between  the 

1  For  a  presentation  of  the  view  that  the  wall  ran  directly  across  from  the 
Capitoline  to  the  Aventine,  see  Melanges,  1909,  103-144. 

2  Liv.  i  44.    Cf.  p.  48,  note  4. 

8  LL.  v.  50.    For  the  luci  of  Rome,  cf.  BC.  1905, 189-232. 


48  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

hills  and  the  river  or  between  the  Caelian  and  the  Aventine, 
except  for  the  long  stretch  across  the  plateau  of  the  Quirinal 
and  the  Esquiline.  Here,  instead  of  an  ordinary  wall,  the 
famous  agger1  was  erected. 

Dionysius 2  states  that  the  length  of  the  Servian  wall  was 
the  same  as  that  of  the  wall  of  Athens,  43  stadia,  or  5|  Roman 

*  /  O 

miles,  and  this  corresponds  very  closely  with  the  line  as  it  can 
now  be  traced.  Communication  with  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
Tiber  was  secured  by  the  pons  Sublicius.  This  wooden  bridge 
was  the  only  one  in  existence  until  179  B.C.,  and  is  usually  sup- 
posed 3  to  have  spanned  the  river  close  by  the  forum  Boarium, 
within  the  limits  of  the  Servian  fortifications. 

The  city  inclosed  within  this  wall  marked  a  most  important 
departure  from  the  earlier  conception  of  the  city,  or  urbs,  in 
that  the  line  of  the  pomerium,  and  therefore  the  city-templum, 
was  not  extended  to  coincide  with  the  new  wall,  but  remained 
as  it  had  been  during  the  previous  period.  The  new  Esquiline 
and  Aventine  regions  remained  without  the  sacred  precinct. 
The  reason  for  this  condition  is  unknown,4  but  from  the  time 
of  Sulla  the  political  fiction 5  was  developed  that  no  one  who 
had  not  increased  the  area  of  Roman  territory  by  actual  con- 
quest 6  had  the  right  to  extend  the  pomerium  of  the  city. 

Latin  literature  speaks  of  many  gates  in  the  Servian  wall, 
and  gives  the  names  of  sixteen  which  are  accepted  as  authen- 
tic. Of  these,  the  site  of  some  can  be  made  out  with  certainty, 
of  the  others  with  more  or  less  probability. 

Those  the  location  of  which  may  be  regarded  as  certain, 
are:  — 

1.   Porta  Oarmentalis,7  with  two  openings,  at  the  southwestern 
corner  of  the  Gapitoline. 

1  For  the  description  of  this  wall  and  agger,  see  pp.  112-115. 

2  iv.  13.  »  For  the  discussion  of  this  question,  see  p.  78. 
<  Cf.,  however,  CP.  1909,  420-432;  AJA.  1908,  183. 

6  Gell.  xiii.  14;  GIL.  vi.  1231-1233. 

6  For  further  extensions  of  the  pomerium,  see  pp.  67-69. 

f  Dionys.  i.  32 ;  Solin.  i.  13. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE    CITY.       49 

2.  Porta  Sanqualis,1  on  the  collis  Mucialis  (p.  16),  in  the  via  di 

Magnanapoli. 

3.  Porta  Salutaris,2  on  the  collis  Salutaris  (p.  16),  in  the  piazza 

del  Quirinale,  near  the  via  della  Dateria. 

4.  Porta  Quirinalis, 3  on  the  Quirinal,  close  to  the  line  of  the  via 

delle  Quattro  Fontane. 

5.  Porta  Oollina,4  at  the  extreme  northeastern  corner  of  the 

wall,  over  the  via  Nomentana. 

6.  Porta  Viminalis,5  on  the  Viminal,  north  of  the  present  rail- 

road station. 

7.  Porta  Esquilina,6  over  the  via  Labicana,  northwest  of  the 

piazza  Vittorio  Emanuele. 

8.  Porta  Oaelemontana,7  on  the  Caelian,  near  the  Lateran. 

9.  Porta  Oapena,8  over  the  via  Appia. 

10.  Porta  Trigemina,9  between  the  Aventine  and  the  Tiber. 

Those  the  situation  of  which  is  highly  probable,  although 
not  so  certain,  are :  — 

11.  Porta  Naevia,10  between  S.  Saba  and  the  baths  of  Caracalla. 

12.  Porta  Kaudusculana,11  at  the  junction  of  the  viale  Aventino 

and  the  via  di  porta  S.  Paolo. 

13.  Porta  Lavernalis,12  in  the  via  del  Priorato,  —  all  three  on  the 

southern  slope  of  the  Aventine. 


1  Fest.  343;  BC.  1876,  35-36;  RUM.  1894,  411 ;  Jordan,  I.  1.  213;  3.  399. 

2  Fest.  326-327 ;  EhM.  1894,  405,  411 ;  BC.  1876,  126. 
8  Fest.  254 ;  Hermes,  1891,  137 ;  Jordan,  1. 3.  399,  411. 

4  BC.  1876,  165-167;  Strabo,  v.  234;  Dionys.  ix.  68;  Jordan,  I.  3.  399. 

6  Fest.  376;  BC.  1876, 168-170. 
•Liv.ii.ll;  .BCM875,  191. 

7  Cic.  in  Pis.  55,  61 ;  Liv.  xxxv.  9;  Lanciani,  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  536. 

«  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  192;  Juv.  iii.  11;  Mart.  iii.  47;  Bull.  d.  1st.  1882, 121-127. 

8  Solin.  i.  8;  Frontin.  6;  Arch.  Zeit.  1873,  9-11;  Melanges,  1909,  129-132. 
1°  Varro,  LL.  v.  163;  Liv.  ii.  11. 

«  Varro,  LL.  v.  163;  Fest.  Epit.  275 ;  Val.  Max.  v.  6.  3. 
12  Varro,  LL.  v.  163;  Fest.  Epit.  117;  Jordan,  I.  1.  168;  Merlin,  L'Aventin, 
119-121. 


50  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

14.  Porta  Flumentana,1  between  the  porta  Carmentalis  and  the 

river. 

Somewhat  more  doubtful  are  the  sites  of  the  following: — 

15.  Porta  Fontinalis,2  at  the  northeastern  extremity  of  the  Capi- 

toline, and  belonging  originally  to  the  collis  Latiaris. 
A  road  from  the  Forum  into  the  campus  Martius  cer- 
tainly crossed  between  the  Capitoline  and  Quirinal  at 
this  point,  and  passed  through  a  gate,  but  whether  it 
was  the  porta  Fontinalis  or  not,  is  uncertain. 

16.  Porta  Querquetulana,3  probably  on  the  Caelian,  where  a  road 

passed  out  to  the  vallis  Egeriae.4 

The  relation  of  the  district  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tiber  to 
the  city  proper  during  the  early  period  has  been  much  dis- 
cussed. According  to  tradition,  Ancus  Marcius5  united  the 
laniculum,  or  Janus-city,  to  the  city  by  the  pons  Sublicius  and 
by  a  wall  from  this  bridge  to  the  top  of  the  hill.  We  are  also 
told  that  while  the  comitia  centuriata  was  meeting  in  the  cam- 
pus Martius,6  flag-signals  were  interchanged  between  the  Capi- 
tol and  the  Janiculum,  where  a  watch  was  being  kept  for  the 
approach  of  an  enemy. 

It  is  probable  that  shortly  before  or  after  the  beginnings  of 

the  Servian  city,  it  became  customary  from  time  to  time  to 

station  an  outpost  on  the  Janiculum,7  whenever  there  was  any 

reason  to  fear  the  sudden  approach  of  an  enemy,  and  that 

* : 

i  Varro,  RR.  iii.  2 ;  Liv.  vi.  20 ;  xxxv.  9  and  21 ;  Fest.  89 ;  GIL.  vi.  9208.  Cf . 
Melanges,  1909,  140-141. 

52  Liv.  xxxv.  10;  Fest.  85;  OIL.  vi.  9514,  9921;  RhM.  1894,  411;  BC.  1906, 
209-223.  3  PI.  XH.  xvi.  37 ;  Fest.  260,  261 ;  BC.  1905,  201. 

4  The  porta  Ratumena,  mentioned  by  Festus,  274,  was  probably  a  gate  in 
the  Capitoline  inclosure  ;  cf.  Jordan,  I.  1.  210 ;  Hiilsen,  RhM.  1894,  412. 

6  Liv.  i.  33;  Dionys.  iii.  45.  6  Liv.  xxxix.  15;  Dio  Cass.  xxxvii.  28. 

7  For  the  discussion  of  the  Janiculum,  its  derivation  and  meaning,  cf. 
Richter,  Befestigung  des  Janiculum,  Berlin,  1882;  Gilbert,  II.  174-179;  Jor- 
dan,  I.   1.  241-245;    Elter,  RhM.    1891,    112-138;    Mayerhofer,    Gesch.-topo- 
graphische  Studien,  Munich,  1887,  7-21. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   CITY.       51 

some  time  afterward  a  small  fort  of  some  sort  was  erected,  which, 
however,  does  not  appear  to  have  been  connected  with  the  river 
by  any  line  of  fortification.  All  necessity  for  such  an  outpost 
ended  when  Rome  became  mistress  of  the  peninsula,  and 
thenceforth  the  district  trans  Tiberim  underwent  a  normal  de- 
velopment, first  as  the  pagus  laniculensis,  belonging  to  the  ager 
Romanus,  and  afterward  as  a  part  of  the  city  itself. 

By  the  time  of  Sulla,  the  wall  had  been  destroyed  in  many 
places,  and  houses  had  been  built  over  and  against  it.  A  little 
later,  Dionysius  says  that  it  was  difficult  to  trace  its  course, 
and  Maecenas  included  the  agger  in  a  park  (p.  71).  From 
these  and  other  indications,  we  may  infer  that  the  wall  was 
kept  in  reasonably  good  repair  down  to  the  second  century 
B.C.  ;  but  that  from  that  time  on  it  fell  more  and  more  rapidly 
into  decay,  so  that  it  could  practically  be  disregarded  by  Augus- 
tus in  his  reorganization  of  the  city. 

Along  the  river,  the  spread  of  the  city  beyond  the  line  of  the 
walls  began  at  a  very  early  date.  The  importance  of  the  Tiber 
for  the  development  of  Rome  was  greatest  during  the  first  four 
centuries  of  the  republic,  and  more  room  upon  its  bank  was 
needed  than  that  included  within  the  wall.  The  first  exten- 
sion, therefore,  of  business  and  population  beyond  the  fortifica- 
tions was  northward  from  the  porta  Flumentana  and  southward 
from  the  porta  Trigemina.  Ships  from  Ostia  began  to  discharge 
their  cargoes  along  the  bank  under  the  Aventine,  where  later 
stood  the  Emporium,  or  market  place  for  foreign  goods,  and  in 
imperial  times  the  enormous  horrea,  or  warehouses.  The  forum 
Boarium,  or  cattle  market,  was  near  the  river  within  the  walls; 
but  the  forum  Holitorium,  or  vegetable  market,  was  outside  the 
porta  Carmentalis  :  and  still  further  up  the  river  were  the  Ha- 
vana, or  shipyards.  It  is  probable  that  the  population  in  the 
district  between  the  Palatine,  the  Capitoline,  the  Forum,  and 
the  Tiber  was  more  dense  than  anywhere  else  in  the  city, 
except  possibly  in  the  Subura,  and  an  early  overflow  into  the 
campus  Martius  was  natural. 


52  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

The  names  of  at  least  three  suburban  districts  north  of  the 
Servian  wall  are  known  to  us,  although  their  respective  limits 
cannot  accurately  be  defined :  namely,  the  campus  Flaminius,1 
where  Flaminius  built  a  circus  for  the  plebs  in  the  year 
221  B.C.,  a  distinctly  plebeian  quarter,  sometimes  called  the 
prata  Plaminia ; 2  the  region  called  extra  portam  Flumentanam ; 3 
and  that  known  as  the  Aemiliana.4 

As  the  city  underwent  an  almost  complete  transformation 
under  Augustus  and  his  successors,  and  as  existing  remains 
with  few  exceptions  date  from  this  later  period,  it  is  difficult 
to  form  any  definite  and  exact  idea  of  the  appearance  of  the 
Rome  of  the  republic.  Temples  and  public  buildings  were 
built  of  opus  quadratum  of  tufa,  or  of  concrete  faced  with 
opus  incertum,  extremely  simple  in  style,  and  with  no  preten- 
sion to  beauty.  The  dwellings  of  most  of  the  citizens  were 
built  of  wooden  framing,  sun-dried  bricks  (lateres  crudi],  and 
wattled  work  of  mud  and  osiers,  unsubstantial  in  character  and 
unattractive  in  appearance.  These  houses  furnished  excellent 
material  for  the  frequent  conflagrations 5  which  swept  through 
the  city,  and  which  were  at  the  same  time  the  cause  and  the 
result  of  this  worthless  style  of  construction.  The  constant 
danger  of  inundations  in  the  districts  along  the  river  was 
another  reason  for  the  persistence  of  a  cheap  method  of 
building. 

A  marked  change  in  the  character  of  the  houses  of  the  rich 
began,  apparently,  about  the  year  100  B.C.,  and  we  are  told  of 
the  magnificence  of  many  of  the  palaces  of  wealthy  Romans, 
erected  on  the  Palatine  after  that  date  (p.  134). 

Comparatively  little  was  done,  however,  in  the  way  of  re- 
storing existing  temples  and  public  buildings,  or  erecting  new 


1  Varro,  LL.  \.  154;  Gilbert,  III.  66-69;  Jordan,  I.  3.  484. 

2  Liv.  iii.  54,  63.  «  Liv.  xxxv.  9.  21 ;  Jordan,  I.  1.  240. 
4  Varro,  RR.  iii.  2;  Gilbert,  III.  378;  Jordan,  I.  3.  490. 

6  For  seven  great  fires,  recorded  in  this  period,  see  Jordan,  I.  1.  482  note, 
and  Friedlander,  Sittengeschichte,   i6.  31 ;  i7.  20. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   CITY.       53 

edifices  of  any  remarkable  character,  the  Tabularium  (78  B.C.) 
and  the  theatre  of  Pompey  (55  B.C.)  being  almost  the  sole 
exceptions,  so  that  we  may  accept  without  doubt  the  state- 
ments of  Cicero  and  Augustus,  as  describing  justly  the  appear- 
ance of  the  chief  city  of  the  world  at  the  end  of  the  republic.1 

That  temples  in  large  numbers  had  been  erected  during  the 
republic  is  known  from  the  statement 2  of  Augustus  that  he 
had  restored  eighty-two  at  his  own  expense ;  but  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  many  of  them  were  architecturally  suc- 
cessful or  beautiful.  The  spoils  of  Sicily  and  Greece,  gathered 
by  Roman  generals  during  two  centuries  of  conquest,  which 
had  been  placed  in  the  temples  and  public  buildings,  must 
have  served  in  general  to  emphasize  the  artistic  poverty  of 
their  surroundings. 

More  important  than  the  buildings  themselves  was  the  general 
plan  of  the  Servian  city,  for  this  was  followed  in  its  main  lines 
in  the  succeeding  periods.  To  speak  of  a  "  plan  "  is  somewhat 
misleading,  for  the  city  of  Rome  was  not  laid  out  according  to 
any  plan  whatsoever.  We  are  told 3  that  after  its  burning  by 
the  Gauls  the  city  was  rebuilt  without  regard  to  previous 
boundaries,  in  an  absolutely  haphazard  fashion.  Although 
considerable  doubt  attends  this  alleged  burning  by  the  Gauls,4 
it  is  evident  that  the  lines  of  the  city  were  dependent  upon  the 
contour  of  the  ground  and  the  conditions  of  settlement,  and  not 
at  all  upon  conscious  purpose.  The  first  settlements  were  on 
the  hills,  —  the  Palatine,  the  Esquiline,  the  Quirinal,  and  the 
Caelian,  —  and  consisted  of  peasants'  huts  grouped  together 
with  no  idea  of  symmetry.  When  these  settlements  were 
united  into  one  city,  the  valleys  between  the  hills  were  made 
use  of  for  meeting-places,  markets,  public  games,  and  similar 

1  Cic.  de  Div.  ii.  99 :  in  latere  aut  in  caemento  ex  quibus  urbs  effecta  est. 
Varro  ap.   Non.  48.  9;  Suet.  Aug.  28:   urbem  neque  pro  maiestate  imperil 
ornatam  et  inundationibus  incendiisque  obnoxiam  excoluit  adeo  ut  iure  sit 
gloriatus  marmoream  se  relinquere  quam  latericiam  accepisset. 

2  Mon.  Anc.  21.  «  Liv.  v.  65.  *  Thouret,  JJ.  iv.  Suppl.  Bd.  164  ff. 


54  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

purposes.  Paths  were  trodden  along  these  valleys  to  the  vari- 
ous points  on  the  hills,  along  the  paths  buildings  were  erected, 
and  they  afterward  became  the  main  streets  of  the  city.  First 
in  time  and  importance  was  the  Sacra  via,  between  the  Palatine 
and  the  Esquiline,  which,  beginning  near  the  present  site  of 
the  Colosseum,  crossed  the  ridge  of  the  Velia  and  extended  to 
the  east  end  of  the  Forum.  Its  continuation  passed  through 
the  Forum  valley  to  the  foot  of  the  Capitoline  (p.  171).  From 
this  point  it  was  called  the  clivus  Oapitolinus,  and  ascended  the 
Capitoline  to  the  depression  between  the  Capitol  and  the  Arx, 
where  it  divided  and  continued  to  each  summit. 

Probably  the  second  street  to  receive  a  name  was  the  Nova  via 
(so  called  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Sacra  via),  which  extended 
from  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Palatine,  along  its  north  and 
west  sides,  to  the  Velabrum.  This  coincides  with  part  of  the 
line  which  Tacitus  describes  as  having  been  that  of  the  Pala- 
tine pomerium  (p.  36). 

These  were  the  only  two  streets  within  the  Servian  city 
which  were  called  viae,  this  term  being  elsewhere  applied  only 
to  the  great  roads  which  ran  from  Rome  to  the  various  parts 
of  Italy,  and  at  a  later  period  to  a  few  streets  in  the  campus 
Martius1  and  on  the  Aventiue.2 

In  the  city  of  the  Four  Regions,  the  main  streets,  besides  the 
two  already  mentioned,  must  have  been  the  Subura,  and  its  ex- 
tension, the  clivus  Suburanus,  and  the  two  leading  from  the  end 
of  the  Sacra  via  in  the  Colosseum  valley  along  the  north  and 
west  sides  of  the  Caelian.  In  the  Servian  city  this  list  of 
principal  streets  was  increased  by  those  which  ran  from  the 
Subura  np  the  slopes  of  the  Quirinal  and  Viminal  to  the  gates 
in  the  Esquiline  wall  and  agger,  the  vicus  portae  Oollinae,  which 
ran  across  the  Quirinal,  and  three  which  led  out  from  the  Forum, 
—  the  vicus  Tuscus  southwest  along  the  north  side  of  the  Pala- 
tine, the  vicus  lugarius  round  the  southwest  slope  of  the  Capi- 

1  Via  Tecta  (p.  377),  via  Lata  (p.  125),  via  Fornicata  (p.  342). 
*  Via  Nova  sub  thermis  Antoninianis  (p.  414). 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   CITY.       55 

toline  to  the  porta  Carmentalis,  and  that  which  connected  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  Forum  with  the  campus  Martius,  be- 
tween the  Capitoline  and  the  Quirinal. 

These  streets,  with  such  open  spaces  as  the  Forum,  the  forum 
Boarium,  and  the  forum  Holitorium,  formed  the  framework,  so 
to  speak,  of  the  city  of  the  republic,  and  from  them  branched 
off  a  constantly  increasing  number  of  less  important  cross- 
streets  and  alleys.  The  average  width  of  these  streets  was 
ibout  4  metres,  although  the  broadest  were  2  or  3  metres  wider. 
Down  to  the  beginning  of  the  third  century  B.C.  it  is  probable 
that  the  Sacra  via  and  the  Nova  via  were  the  only  streets  which 
were  paved,  but  after  that  date  1  there  was  great  improvement 
in  this  respect,  although  records  of  paving  are  for  the  most  part 
still  later. 

The  regular  name  for  a  city  street  was  vicus2:  that  of  a  side 
street  or  alley, pergula*  or  semtia  if  open  at  both  ends,  and 
angiportus  if  a  cul-de-sac.  But  vicus  was  also  regularly  used  to 
include  a  main  street,  the  side  streets  and  alleys  opening  into 
it,  and  the  houses  standing  upon  them,  so  that  the  term  was 
equivalent  to  ward  or  quarter.  The  names  of  about  one  hun- 
dred *  of  these  vici  have  been  handed  down,  but  their  situation 
is  not  always  certain. 

By  the  laws  of  the  Twelve  Tables  each  house  must  be  sur- 
rounded by  a  narrow  passage,  to  guard  against  the  danger  of 
fire.  Hence  such  a  dwelling  was  called  an  insula,5  and  there 
was  a  considerable  number  of  these  insulae  in  each  vicus. 
Toward  the  end  of  the  republic  this  regulation  was  disre- 
garded, and  a  distinction  arose  between  domus  and  insula,  the 
former  term  being  applied  to  the  separate  mansions  of  the 


1  Liv.  xxxviii.  28 ;  xli.  27. 

2  Arch.f.  Lot.  Lex.  1905,  301-316.  8  Mitt.  1887,  214-220. 

4  Kiepert  and  Hiilsen,  Nofnenclator  Topographicus,  Berlin,  1896. 

5  Richter,  Hermes,  1885,  91  if. ;  Attilio  del  Marchi,  Ricerche  intorno  alle 
"  insulae  "  o  case  a  pigione  di  Roma  antica,  Milan,  1891 ;  Hiilsen,  Mitt.  1892, 
279-284. 


56  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

rich  Romans,  while  the  latter  was  restricted  to  the  tenements 
in  which  the  bulk  of  the  population  lived.1  Later,  another 
transfer  of  meaning  took  place,  in  consequence  of  which  insula 
was  the  name  given  to  an  apartment  of  one  or  more  rooms,  of 
which  one  building  might  contain  many.  It  is  in  this  sense 
that  the  word  is  used  in  the  Notitia. 

During  the  republic  the  population  was  most  dense  in  the 
Subura  and  Velabrum.  The  Palatine  became  the  residence 
quarter  of  the  rich,  while  the  Aventine  was  distinctly  plebeian. 

Attention  has  already  been  called  to  the  overflow  of  popula- 
tion beyond  the  porta  Carmentalis  and  the  porta  Flumentana, 
but  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  campus  Martius  and 
the  campus  Flaminius  were  in  no  sense  within  the  city  until 
the  time  of  Augustus.  They  formed  part  of  the  public  do- 
main, and  we  have  no  record  of  any  sale  to  private  individuals 
before  Sulla.*  Shrines  to  various  divinities  had  been  erected 
in  this  district  from  very  early  times,  but  almost  no  buildings 
of  distinction  before  Pompey's  magnificent  structures. 

Within  the  six  centuries  of  the  existence  of  the  city  of  the 
republic  certain  periods  in  its  development  stand  out  as  espe- 
cially marked.  The  last  years  of  the  kings  witnessed  the 
beginning  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima,  and  the  draining  of  the  Forum 
and  the  Cornitium.  The  censorship  of  Appius  Claudius  Caecus, 
in  312  B.C.,  marked  a  second  stage,  for  the  building  of  the  via 
Appia  from  the  porta  Capena  south,  and  of  the  aqua  Appia, 
the  first  Roman  aqueduct,  by  which  water  was  brought  across 
the  Aventine  down  to  the  porta  Trigemina,  must  have  con- 
tributed greatly  to  the  development  of  the  districts  affected. 

The  third  notable  epoch  was  the  first  forty  years  of  the  sec- 
ond century  B.C.,  when  the  results  of  the  Punic  and  Macedonian 
wars  were  making  themselves  felt  in  attempts  to  adorn  the  city 
with  the  spoils  of  Greece,  and  to  improve  the  condition  of  streets 
and  sewers  by  systematic  paving  and  rebuilding.  At  this  time 

i  Cf.  Jordan,  I.  3.  280.  a  Oros.  v.  18. 


HISTORY   OF  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   CITY.       57 

also  the  erection  of  basilicas  in  and  round  the  Forum  marked  a 
new  departure  in  Roman  architecture  ;  and  the  erection  of  a  sec- 
ond bridge,  the  pous  Aemilius,  begun  in  179  B.C.,  stimulated  the 
growth  of  intercourse  with  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Tiber. 

The  dictatorship  of  Sulla  marks  the  last  epoch  in  the  repub- 
lican city,  for,  besides  the  actual  construction  and  restoration 
effected  at  that  time,  new  ideas  of  architectural  beauty  and 
municipal  symmetry  were  becoming  current,  to  be  formulated 
by  Caesar  and  carried  out  by  Augustus  and  his  successors. 

The  last  century  of  the  republic  also  witnessed  that  change 
in  building  materials,  —  from  crude  to  kiln-dried  brick,  from 
tufa  to  travertine,  —  and  the  introduction  of  marble  and  granite 
from  the  East,  which  in  the  years  to  come  revolutionized  the 
appearance  of  the  city. 

TTrbs  Regionum  XIV,  or  the  Open  City  of  the  Fourteen 
Regions.  —  The  plans  of  Augustus  for  administrative  reform 
included  every  part  of  the  Roman  world,  especially  the  city 
itself,  which  had  far  outgrown  its  previous  limits,  and  had  no 
longer  need  of  walls  of  any  sort.  He  therefore  reorganized  it 
in  the  year  8  B.C.1  on  an  entirely  different  basis,  dividing  the 
whole  city  into  fourteen  regiones,  or  wards,  which  were  still 
further  subdivided  into  vici.2  The  number  of  vici  in  the  differ- 
ent regions  varied  somewhat. 

Two  objects  were  attained  by  this  new  arrangement.  In 
the  first  place,  the  police  and  fire  service  was  organized  on  a 
scale  commensurate  with  its  importance ;  and  secondly,  the 
cult  of  the  emperor  was  introduced  in  a  manner  cleverly  de- 
vised to  impress  the  minds  of  the  mass  of  the  population. 
The  Lares  compitales  had  long  been  worshipped  at  shrines  set 
up  at  the  compita  throughout  the  city,  and  to  these  two  deities 
a  third  was  now  added,  the  Genius  Augusti.3 

1  Suet.  Aug.  30 ;  Dio  Cass.  Iv.  8 ;  Preller,  Die  Regionen  der  Stadt  Rom,  Jena, 
1846.  2  BC.  1890,  121  ff . ;  Jordan,  II.  585-598. 

8  Suet.  Aug.  31 ;  Preller,  Romische  Mythologie,  ii.8  113;  Carter,  The  Religion 
of  Numa,  London,  1906, 177-180. 


58  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

A  new  set  of  magistrates,  chosen  from  the  common  citizens, 
was  instituted,  who  were  called  mayistri  vicorum,1  originally 
four  from  each  vicus,  but  afterward  forty-eight  in  each  region, 
regardless  of  the  number  of  vici,  and  two  curatores.  These 
magistrates  seem  to  have  had  to  do  mainly  with  the  religious 
ceremonies  of  the  regions,  the  regular  municipal  administration 
being  in  the  hands  of  the  higher  officials. 

From  the  Regionary  Catalogue 2  it  is  possible  to  determine 
with  sufficient  exactness,  in  most  cases,  the  limits  of  these 
regions  in  the  fourth  century ;  but  it  is  somewhat  more  diffi- 
cult to  do  this  for  the  Augustan  division,  inasmuch  as  it  is 
certain  that  the  outer  boundaries  at  least  had  been  extended  at 
some  points  during  the  intervening  three  hundred  years.  The 
only  sources  of  information  with  regard  to  the  original  regions 
are  certain  passages  in  literature 3  and  a  few  inscribed  terminal 
stones  of  the  pomerium  (pp.  68-69)  and  of  the  customs-boundary 
which  have  been  found. 

The  number  of  the  regions,  fourteen,  was  twice  the  tradi- 
tional number  of  the  hills  of  the  Servian  city,  i.e.  the  Palatine, 
Capitoline,  Aventine,  Caelian,  Esquiline,  Viminal,  and  Quirinal. 
These  regions  were  originally  known  only  by  number,  and  the 
names  found  in  the  Regionary  Catalogue  became  current  at 
various  later  periods,  doubtless  as  a  result  of  popular  usage. 
Thus  the  name  templum  Pacis,  applied  to  region  IV,  could 
not  have  antedated  the  erection  of  this  temple  by  Vespasian 
in  75  A.D.4 

It  has  usually  been  supposed 5  that  the  Servian  wall  formed 
a  general  boundary  for  these  regions,  II,  III,  IV,  VI,  VIII, 
X,  XI  being  entirely  within,  and  I,  V,  VII,  IX,  XIV  entirely 


1  Marquardt,   Staatsverwaltung,  iii.  203-207 ;    Mommsen,  Staatsrecht,  ii. 
1035-1037;  iii.  119-122;  OIL.  vi.  975;  BC.  1906,  198-208. 

2  Jordan,  II.  540-574. 

•Notably  PI.  NH.  iii.  66-67;  Preller,  Regionen,  69. 

4  Dio  Cass,  Ixvi.  15 ;  Joseph.  Bell.  hid.  vii.  5.  7 ;  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  102. 

6  Jordan,  I.  1.  296-339;  BC.  1890,  115-137. 


HISTORY  OF  THE   DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE   CITY.      59 

without  its  circuit ;  while  XII  and  XIII  were  perhaps  always 
exceptions,  including  territory  on  both  sides  of  the  wall.  It 
seems  probable,  however,  that  regions  I,  II,  and  VI,  also  in- 
cluded territory  on  each  side  of  the  wall,  at  least  in  the  fourth 
century,  but  the  determination  of  their  exact  limits  is  very 
difficult,  if  not  impossible.1 

It  has  also  been  assumed  that  the  Aurelian  wall  was  built 
on  the  outer  boundary  of  the  regions,  but  it  has  been  shown 
that  this  was  not  always  the  case.2  Hillsen's  sketch  (Fig.  7) 
shows  some  of  the  probable  limits  of  the  city  in  the  time  of 
Pliny.3  In  the  year  73  A.D.  Vespasian  had  a  new  survey  of  the 
city  made  and  maps  drawn,  and  he  probably  placed  the  famous 
Marble  Plan  (p.  2)  011  the  wall  of  the  templum  Sacrae  Urbis. 
This  survey  and  plan  were  perhaps  based  on  similar  work  of 
Agrippa's, 4  but  as  Claudius  had  meanwhile  extended  the 
pomerium  (p.  67),  it  is  possible  that  either  he  or  Vespasian 
also  extended  the  boundaries  of  some  of  the  regions,  but  not 
to  any  great  extent.  Augustus  inclosed  the  fourteen  regions 
with  a  customs-barrier,  which  was  enlarged  somewhat  by 
Vespasian. 

Hillsen  has  shown 5  also  that  the  thirty-seven  singulae  portae 6 
mentioned  by  Pliny  were  not  gates  in  the  Servian  wall,  as 
was  once  the  general  opinion,  but  gates  in  this  customs-barrier, 


1  Rh M.  1891, 416-23.  Cf .  map  of  ancient  ci^y  on  opposite  page,  for  the  latest 
view  as  to  the  division. 

2  BC.  1892,  93-104.  8  Mitt.  1897,  148-160. 
*  Jordan,  1. 1.  301.  6  Mitt.  1897, 154-156. 
'Pliny,  NH.  iii.  66-67:  Moenia  urbis  collegere  ambitu  imperatoribus  cen- 

soribusque  Vespasianis,  anno  conditae  DCCCXXVI  millia  passuum  XIII  CC, 
complexa  montes  septem.  Ipsa  dividitur  in  regiones  quattuordecim,  compita 
Larum  CCLXV.  Eiusdem  spatium,  mensura  currente  a  milliario  in  capite 
Romani  fori  statute  ad  singulas  portas,  quae  sunt  hodie  numero  XXXVII  ita 
ut  duodecim  semel  numerentur,  praetereanturque  ex  veteribus  septem,  quae 
esse  desierunt,  efficit  passuum  per  directum  XXMDCCLXV.  Ad  extrema  vero 
tectorum  cum  castris  praetoriis  ab  eodem  milliario  per  vias  omnium  vicorum 
mensura  colligit  paulo  amplius  XX  millia  passuum. 


60  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

which  was  marked  by  stone  cippi.  Four  of  these  inscribed1 
cippi  (Fig.  7)  have  been  found  in  situ,  but  they  belong  to  the 
time  of  Cornmodus.  Three  of  them  were  close  to  the  Aurelian 
wall. 

This  number,  thirty -seven,  is  large  enough  to  provide  for  a 
gate  where  each  of  the  thirteen  principal  viae  —  the  Flaminia, 
Salaria,  Nomentana,  Gabina,  Tiburtina,  Labicana,  Asinaria, 
Latina,  Appia,  Ostiensis,  Portuensis,  Aurelia,  and  Trium- 
phalis2  —  passed  out  of  the  city,  and  for  an  average  of  two 
others  between  these,  separated  from  each  other  by  about  500 
metres. 

The  fourteen  regions  established  by  Augustus,  with  their 
later  names,  were  the  following :  — 

I.  Porta  Oapena,  so  called  from  the  gate  in  the  Servian  wall 
whence  the  via  Appia  issued.     It  was  an  irregularly  shaped 
district,  beginning  at  the  east  corner  of  the  Palatine,  bounded 
on  the  west  by  that  hill,  and  running  south  to  some  distance 
beyond  the  porta  Capena  between  two  almost  parallel  lines, 
not  more  than  150  metres  apart  on  the  average.     Beyond  the 
Aventine  it  widened  considerably  and  extended  to  the  bank  of 
the  Almo,  a  stream  some  distance  beyond  the  line  of  the  Aure- 
lian wall.     It  is  probable  that  regions  I,  II,  III,  IV,  and  X  all 
met  at  one  point  near  the  Meta  Sudans. 

II.  Oaelemontmm.     This  region 3  included  the  greater  part  of 
the  Caelian,  and  extended  east  to  the  Aurelian  wall. 

III.  Isis  et  Serapis,  so  called  because  of  the  temples  to  these 
two  Egyptian  deities,  erected  within  its  boundaries.     It  in- 
cluded the  Colosseum  valley  and  the  part  of  the  Oppius  within 
the  Servian  wall. 

IV.  Templum  Pacis,  including  the  Sacra  via  from  its  begin- 
ning to  the  atrium  Vestae,  the  Subura,  and  the  Cispius  within 
the  Servian  wall. 

1  GIL.  vi.  1016  a,  b,  c;  EE.  iv.  787;  CIL.  vi.  31227. 

2  Hulsen's  list,  Mitt.  1897,  156;  but  cf.  pp.  125-128.  8  Mitt.  1892,  270. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   CITY.       61 


T. 

Fortis 
Foi-tunae 


Sep. 
Antinoi 


TERMINAL  STONES  OF  THE  POMERIUM.        TERMINAL  STONES  OP  THE  CUSTOMS- 
BARRIER. 

a,  b,  c,  d,  x  :    ^Claudius.  A.      GIL.  vi.  1016  e. 

e,  f,  g  :    Vespasian.  B.      OIL.  vi.  1016  b. 

h,  i :    Hadrian.  •  C.     CIL.  vl.  1016  a. 

D.     CIL.  vl.  81227. 


FIG.  7.  — MAP  SHOWING  TERMINAL  STONES  OP  THE  POMERICM  AND 
CUSTOMS-BARRIER. 


62  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

V.  Esquiliae,  the  eastern  district  of  the  city,  lying  outside  of 
the  Servian  wall  and  north  of  the  via  Asinaria.     In  the  time  of 
Augustus  the  campus  Viminalis,  and  probably  all  the  district 
between  the  via  Tiburtina  and  the  via  Salaria,  lay  outside  the 
city,1  and  none  of  it  was  included  in  region  V  until  after  the 
time  of  Vespasian.     The  boundary  of  this  region  was  at  a 
short  distance  beyond  the  Aurelian  wall  on  the  south,  but  in 
the  fourth  century  coincided  with  it  from  a  point  south  of  the 
via  Labicana  to  the  south  side  of  the  castra  Praetoria. 

VI.  Alta  Semita,  so  called  from  a  street  which  crossed  the 
Quirinal,   on  the   line   of  the   modern    via    Quirinale.     This 
region2  included  the  Quirinal  from  the  imperial  fora  to  the 
Servian  wall  between  the  porta  Viminalis  and  the  porta  Collina, 
and  extended  west  far  enough  to  take  in  the  horti  Sallustiani, 
and  north  even  beyond  the   Aurelian   wall.     In   the   fourth 
century,  after  the  castra  Praetoria  had  been  made  a  part  of  the 
city,  the  boundary  of  this  region  coincided  with  the  Aurelian 
wall  from  the  porta  Salaria  south  round  the  castra. 

VII.  Via  Lata,  so  called  from  the  name  given  to  the  southern 
end  of  the  via  Flaminia,  between  which  and  the  western  bound- 
ary of  VI  this  region  lay. 

VIII.  Forum  Roinanum  vel  Magnum.     This  region  included  the 
Forum,  the  imperial  fora,  the  Capitoline  and  the  district  south 
of  it,  extending  to  a  line  drawn  north  of  the  forum  Boarium, 
through  the  Velabrum  and  back  to  the  Forum. 

IX.  Circus  Flaminius,  all  the  territory  between  the  via  Fla- 
minia, the  Servian  wall,  and  the  Tiber. 

X.  Palatium,  the  Palatine,  within  the  lines  described  by 
Tacitus3  (p.  36)  as  those  of  the  first  pomerium. 

XI.  Circus  Maximus,  another  very  irregulai  region,  compris- 
ing the  Circus  Maximus  and  all  that  part  of  the  city  between 
the  limits  of  VIII  and  X  and  the  Tiber. 


i  PI.  loc.  cit.  2  Mitt.  1892,  307-308;  RhM.  1894,  422;  Jordan,  I.  3.  418. 

8  Ann.  xii.  24. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF  THE   CITY.       63 

XII.  Piscina  Publica,  so  called  from  a  large  artificial  pool  for 
washing  and  similar  purposes,  near  the  site  of  the  baths  of 
Caracalla.     This   region   included    the    eastern    part   of    the 
Aventine,  and  the  districts  south  of  the  via  Appia  as  far  as 
the  Aurelian  wall. 

XIII.  Aventinus.     This  region  extended  from  the  boundaries 
of  XI  and  XII  to  the  river,  including  the  larger  half  of  the 
Aventine. 

XIV.  Trans  Tiberim  (Trastevere).     This  was  the  name  given 
to  all  that  part  of  the  city  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tiber,  but 
whether  its  limits  corresponded  with  the  line  of  the  Aureliau 
wall  is  entirely  uncertain.1     The  insula  Tiberina  (p.  83)  was 
also  included  in  this  region. 

Augustus  organized  the  fire  and  police  service  on  the  basis 
of  this  new  division  into  regions.  During  the  republic,  similar 
services  had  been  performed  by  a  corps  of  publici,  or  slaves  of 
the  municipality,  under  the  command  of  the  tresviri  nocturni.2 
The  new  body  consisted  of  seven  cohortes  vigilum*  numbering 
seven  thousand  men,  under  the  command  of  a praefectus  viyilum, 
who  was  subordinate  to  the  praefectus  urbi.  These  guards  were 
garrisoned  in  seven  barracks,  called  stationes,4  and  fourteen 
smaller  posts,  excubitoria. 

From  actual  remains  and  inscriptions8  found  in  situ,  the 
location  of  five  of  these  barracks  has  been  determined,  namely, 
statio  1  in  region  VII,  2  in  V,  3  in  VI,  4  in  XII,  and  5  in  II. 
According  to  the  Notitia,  statio  6  was  in  region  VIII,  and  7  in 
XIV. 

All  these  inscriptions  are  later  than  the  time  of  Augustus, 
and  the  location  of  some  of  these  barracks  may  have  been 
changed  during  the  interval.  This  was  certainly  true  of  No.  2, 

1  Mitt.  1897,  153.  2  Mommsen,  Staatsrecht,  i.  328-329;  ii.  594-595. 

8  Mommsen,  Staatsrecht,  ii.  1054-1058;  Marquardt,  Staatsverwaltung,  ii. 

484-487.  *  Ann.  d.  1st.  1858, 265-297,  391-392. 
5  CIL.  vi.  2959-3090. 


64  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  EOME. 

which  could  not  have  been  so  far  out  at  first.  All  the  barracks 
which  can  be  definitely  located,  except  this  No.  2,  were  close  to 
the  Servian  wall,  and  so  arranged  that  each  cohort  had  charge 
of  two  adjacent  regions.  The  natural  combinations  were  I  and 
II,  III  and  V,  IV  and  VI,  VII  and  IX,  VIII  and  X,  XI  and 
XIV,1  XII  and  XIII. 

The  City  of  Aurelian.  —  The  last  stage  in  the  development  of 
the  city  was  marked  by  its  being  inclosed  again  within  walls. 
For  nearly  six  hundred  years  there  had  been  practically  no 
fear  of  foreign  invasion,  but  in  the  latter  half  of  the  third 
century  the  northern  barbarians  became  so  threatening  that  the 
open  capital  of  the  world  was  converted  into  a  fortified  city. 

The  wall  was  begun  by  the  emperor  Aurelian  (270-275  A.D.), 
and  finished  by  his  successor  Probus  (276-288). 2  It  must  have 
been  very  imperfectly  constructed  or  else  strangely  neglected, 
for  it  had  to  be  extensively  restored  in  the  reign  of  Honorius, 
under  the  supervision  of  Flavius  Macrobius  Longinianus,  pre- 
fect of  the  city  in  the  year  403.  This  is  known  from  three 
famous  inscriptions3  which  are  built  into  the  wall  over  the 
porta  Tiburtina,  the  porta  Praenestina,  and  the  porta  Portuen- 
sis.  Serious  breaches  were  also  made  by  the  Goths  under 
Totila  in  the  sixth  century,4  and  repaired  by  Belisarius.  This 
wall,  commonly  known  as  the  Aurelian  wall,  is  the  fortifica- 
tion of  the  modern  city,  except  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river. 
Its  usefulness  is  entirely  past,  and  as  a  result  of  many  centuries 
of  injury  and  decay,  it  presents  the  appearance  of  a  ruin. 

In  consequence  of  the  invasion  of  the  Saracens  in  846  A.D., 
Pope  Leo  IV  built  a  wall  which  inclosed  the  Vatican,  St. 
Peter's,  and  the  Borgo,  and  extended  to  the  river..  This  section 
of  the  city  was  then  known  by  the  name  of  civitas  Leonina,  or 
the  city  of  Leo.  In  1642  Urban  VIII  began  the  construction 

1  Richter,  Top*  54  n. 

2  Zos.  i.  49;  Vop.  Vit.  Aur.  21 ;  Jordan,  I.  1.  340-392. 

»  OIL.  vi.  1188-1190.  *  Procop.  Bell.  Goth.  iii.  22. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   CITY.       65 

of  another  wall  which  extended  from  the  Castle  of  St.  Augelo 
round  the  Leonine  City,  and  along  the  western  slope  of  the 
Janiculum  to  the  Tiber,  opposite  the  Aventine.  This  wall  is 
still  kept  in  repair  for  military  purposes. 

The  length  of  the  wall  as  restored  by  Honorius,  according 
to  Lanciani's1  latest  measurements,  was  18,837  metres,  and  there 
is  no  doubt  that  this  restoration  was  made  on  exactly  the  line 
of  the  original  structure  of  Aurelian  and  Probus.  Its  course 
probably  coincided  in  general  with  the  customs-barrier  (p.  59), 
being  determined  primarily  by  the  necessity  of  inclosing  the 
territory  actually  covered  by  the  city  at  the  time ;  and  if  this 
had  been  the  only  consideration,  the  line  of  the  wall  would 
have  coincided  with  the  outer  boundary  of  the  regions.  On 
the  other  hand,  military  and  engineering  considerations  made 
it  necessary  to  take  advantage  of  the  character  of  the  ground, 
and  to  make  use  of  such  structures  already  existing  as  could 
become  a  part  of  the  fortifications.  This  is  clearly  seen  at 
many  points,  but  especially  where  the  line  does  not  coincide 
with  the  limits  of  the  regions.  This  difference,  however,  seems 
on  the  whole  to  have  been  comparatively  slight. 

Appended  to  the  Einsiedeln  Itinerary  is  a  description  of  the 
wall,  evidently  made  by  the  official  in  charge  of  the  restora- 
tion of  Honorius,  which  gives  the  names  of  the  gates,  and  the 
number  of  the  turres,  propugnacula,  posternae,  fenestrae,  etc., 
throughout  its  whole  extent.2 

Beginning  on  the  north  at  the  bank  of  the  Tiber,  the  wall 
extended  east  beyond  the  limits  of  regions  IX  and  VII,  in 
order  to  make  use  of  the  enormously  strong  retaining  wall 
already  built  round  the  Pincian  hill,  then  occupied  by  the 
horti  Aciliorum ;  and  from  this  point,  in  the  same  general 
direction,  to  the  northwest  corner  of  the  castra  Praetoria. 
These  barracks  were  already  inclosed  by  strong  fortifications 
which  became  a  part  of  the  new  wall.  From  the  castra  Prae- 

i  Ruins,  68;  BC.  1892,  87-111. 

«  Jordan,  II.  155-178,  578-582;  Richter,  Top.2  393-394. 


66  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

toria  the  wall  ran  southeast  to  the  point  where  the  via  Labicana 
and  the  via  Praenestina  divided,  which  was  the  meeting-place 
of  seven  aqueducts.  For  several  hundred  yards  the  magnifi- 
cent Claudian  aqueduct  formed  the  wall,  it  being  necessary 
only  to  close  the  open  arches.  Turning  sharply  to  the  south- 
west it  followed,  with  many  changes  in  direction,  the  slopes 
of  the  Caelian  and  the  Aventine  to  the  extreme  southwest 
point  of  the  latter  hill,  where  it  crossed  the  via  Ostiensis. 
Thence  the  line  ran  directly  to  the  Tiber  and  north  along  its 
bank  to  the  Emporium  in  order  to  inclose  the  enormous  store- 
houses of  region  XII.  On  the  right  bank,  the  course  of 
the  wall  seems  to  have  been  determined  solely  by  military 
considerations,  as  it  was  built  in  two  almost  straight  lines 
from  the  fortified  top  of  the  Janiculum  to  the  nearest  points 
on  the  river,  and  probably  did  not  include  all  of  region  XIV. 
The  southernmost  of  these  two  lines  ran  to  the  river  opposite 
the  Emporium.  The  circuit  was  completed  by  continuing  the 
wall  along  the  left  bank,  from  the  porta  Flaminia  to  a  point 
opposite  the  end  of  the  northern  line  from  the  Janiculum, 
and  the  passage  of  the  river  itself  seems  to  have  been  barred 
by  chains  stretched  across  the  stream  between  the  opposite 
ends  of  the  wall.  There  were  at  this  time  several  bridges 
across  the  river,  but  the  exact  method  of  uniting  them  with 
the  wall  so  as  to  form  a  part  of  the  system  of  fortification  is 
unknown. 

It  frequently  happened  that  tombs  stood  directly  in  the  way 
of  the  wall,  especially  where  it  crossed  the  roads  leading  out 
from  the  city.  In  such  cases  the  tombs  were  not  destroyed, 
but  carefully  built  into  the  masonry  of  the  wall  (pp.  420,  505). 

The  description  in  the  Einsiedeln  Itinerary  gives  the  names 
of  fourteen  gates,  as  follows :  Flaminia,  Salaria,  Pinciana, 
Nomentana,  Tiburtina,  Praenestina-Labicana,  Asinaria,  Latina, 
Metrovia,  Appia,  Ostiensis,  Portuensis,  Aurelia,  and  Cornelia.1 

1  For  the  description  of  the  wall,  gates,  and  roads,  see  chap.  vii. 


HISTORY   OF  THE    DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   CITY.       67 

Extensions  of  th'e  Pomerium.  —  The  Pomerium1  of  the  city 
of  the  Four  Regions  probably  coincided  with  the  line  of  its 
fortifications  (p.  43),  but  this  condition  afterward  ceased  to 
exist,  for  the  Aventine  was  within  the  later  Servian  wall,  al- 
though outside  the  pornerium.2  For  unknown  reasons  no 
further  extension  of  the  pomerium  was  made  until  the  time  of 
Sulla,  who  based  his  action  on  the  following  principle,  then 
appearing  for  the  first  time,  habebat  autem  ins  prof erendi  po- 
merii  quipopulum  Romanum  agro  de  hostibus  capto  auxerat.3  In 
Sulla's  time  this  referred  to  territory  in  Italy,4  but  later5  the 
idea  was  expanded  to  cover  the  ager  barbaricus.  Nothing  defi- 
nite is  known  with  regard  to  the  line  of  Sulla's  pomerium, 
except  that  it  did  not  include  the  Aventine.  Elsewhere  it 
probably  coincided  in  general  with  the  Servian  wall. 

Roman  writers6  speak  of  extensions  of  the  pomerium  by 
Caesar,  Augustus,  Claudius,  Nero,  Trajan,  and  Aurelian,  but 
more  or  less  doubt  has  been  cast  upon  this  testimony  in  the 
case  of  all  except  Claudius.  Such  action  on  his  part  has  been 
proved  by  unimpeachable  literary  testimony,  and  also  by  the 
discovery  of  five  of  the  terminal  stones,  cippi,  which  he  set 
up,  and  the  inscriptions  recording  the  fact.7  Claudius  finally 
included  the  Aventine  within  the  city. 

The  pomerium  was  again  extended  by  Vespasian  in  connec- 
tion with  his  new  survey  of  the  city,  and  of  the  terminal  stones 
set  up  in  the  years  73-75  A.D.  three  have  been  found,  although 
there  is  no  reference  to  this  action  in  extant  literature. 


1  Richter,  Top*  64-66;  Jordan,  I.  1.  319-336;  Gilbert,  III.  3-5,  9-13;  Detlef- 
seu,  Das  Pomerium  Roms  und  die  Grenzen  Italiens,  Hermes,  1886,  497-562; 
Hiilsen,  Das  Pomerium  Roms  in  der  Kaiserzeit,  ib.,  1887,  615-626. 

2  Cf.,  however,  p.  48,  note  4.  «  Gell.  xiii.  14.  3. 

<  Sen.  de  Brev.  Vit.  13.  8.  6  Vop.  Vit.  Aur.  21. 

6  Gell.  xiii.  14;  Dio  Cass.   xliii.  50;    Vop.   loc.    cit.;    Tac.   Ann.  xii.  24; 
OIL.  vi.  930. 

7  OIL.  vi.  1231 ;  Ti.  Claudius  |  Drusi   f.    Caisar  |  Aug.  Germanicus  |  pont. 
max.  trib.  pot.  |  VIIII  imp.  XVI  cos.   IHI  |  censor  p.  p.  |  auctis  populi  Ro- 
mani  |  finibus  pomerium  |  ampliavit  terminavitque. 


68  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

Under  Hadrian  the  line  of  the  ponierium  was  again  marked 
out,  and  two  of  the  stones  have  been  discovered,  but  they 
record  only  a  restoration  and  not  an  extension. 

The  five  stones  of  Claudius's  pomerium  are  (Fig.  7)  :  — 

(a)  CIL.  vi.  1231a,  found  in  the  campus  Martins  near  S.  Lucia 

della  Chiavica. 
(&)  CIL.  vi.  31537c,  found  just  outside  the  porta  Salaria. 

(c)  CIL.  vi.  1231b,  31537b,  found  near   the  porta  Metro  via, 
inside  the  Aurelian  wall,  not  far  from  its  original  site.     Ac- 
cording to  Ficoroni,  this  stone  when  found  still  bore  the 
number  XV. 

(d)  CIL.  vi.  31537a,  found  in  situ  southeast  of  monte  Testac- 
cio,  with  the  number  VIII. 

(x)  BC.  1909,  130,  found  in  situ  just  outside  the  porta  Salaria 
near  &,  with  the  number  CIIX. 

Of  Vespasian's  pomerium,  three  terminal  stones  have  been 
found : — 

(e)  CIL.  vi.  31538a,  found  outside  the  porta  Pinciana,  with 
the  number  XXXI. 

(/)  CIL.  vi.  1232,  31538b,  found  near  the  porta  Ostiensis,  just 

inside  the  Aurelian  wall,  and  60  metres  from  d,  with  the 

number  XLVIL 
(g)   NS.  1900,  15-17;  BC.  1899,   270-279;  found  under  the 

church  of  S.  Cecilia  in  Trastevere,  without  numbering,  and 

probably  not  exactly  in  its  original  position. 

Finally,  two  stones  of  Hadrian's  restoration  have  been  found, 
both  in  situ:  — 

Qi)  CIL.   vi.    1233a,  under  the   house  No.  18  in  the  piazza 
Sforza,  with  the  number  V. 

(f)  CIL.  vi.  1233b,  near  S.  Stefano  del  Cacco. 

It  is  probable  that  even  in  the  cases  where  the  stones  were 
not  found  precisely  in  situ,  they  had  not  been  removed  to  any 
considerable  distance. 


HISTORY    OF   THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   CITY.       69 

A  comparison  of  the  positions  of  these  terminal  stones  shows 
(1)  that  north  of  the  Pincian  the  pomerium  of  Vespasian,  and 
therefore  that  of  Claudius,  lay  beyond  the  line  of  the  Aurelian 
wall ;  (2)  that  near  the  porta  Metrovia  pomerium  and  wall 
probably  coincided;  (3)  that  the  inonte  Testaccio  was  still 
outside  the  pomerium ;  and  (4)  that  as  late  as  the  time  of 
Hadrian  a  large  part  of  the  campus  Martins  had  not  been 
included  within  the  pomerium.  Compare  the  position  of  the 
stones  a,  h,  i. 

We  are  told  that  in  Vespasian's  time  the  porticus  Octaviae 
was  also  outside  the  pomerium,  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
campus  Martius  proper  (p.  340)  was  never  within  it,  for  this 
district  must  always  have  been  regarded  as  the  real  meeting- 
place  for  the  army  of  Borne,  and  outside  of  the  civil  jurisdic- 
tion. The  one  stone  (g)  found  in  region  XIV  furnishes  no 
data  sufficient  to  warrant  any  inference  as  to  the  line  of  the 
pomerium  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river.  The  inscription 
on  one  stone  (7i)  gives  480  Roman  feet  as  the  distance  between 
it  and  the  next ;  that  on  another,  337  feet;  and  some  of  the 
stones  are  marked  with  numbers ;  but  all  attempts  to  combine 
these  figures  so  as  to  derive  any  information  as  to  the  rest  of 
the  pomerium  line  have  proved  abortive. 

Rome  during  the  Empire.  —  The  appearance  which  the  city 
of  Rome  presented  in  the  fourth  century  was  the  result  achieved 
by  systematic  effort  on  the  part  of  nearly  all  the  emperors 
from  Augustus  to  Constantino,  ably  seconded  by  their  wealthy 
courtiers.  Only  a  detailed  study  of  the  methods  employed 
in  construction  and  of  the  ruins  now  visible,  as  well  as  of  the 
gradual  destruction  of  the  city  which  was  going  on  for  twelve 
centuries,  and  a  comparison  of  the  wealth  of  decorative  mate- 
rial still  displayed  in  Roman  churches  and  palaces,  can  suffice 
to  give  any  adequate  idea  of  the  magnificence  of  Rome  at  the 
period  of  its  highest  development. 

As  has  been  remarked  (p.  57),  the    substitution  of  traver- 


70  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

tine  for  tufa,  the  introduction  of  the  newly  worked  Luna  mar- 
ble, and  the  importation  of  all  kinds  of  marble,  granite,  and 
decorative  stone  from  the  East,  added  to  the  countless  spoils  of 
Greek  and  Sicilian  cities  which  had  been  flowing  to  Rome  ever 
since  the  days  of  Marcellus,  had  already  begun  to  affect  the 
architecture  and  appearance  of  the  city  in  the  half  century 
before  Caesar's  dictatorship.  Not  until  Caesar,  however,  do 
we  hear  of  any  definite  plans  for  the  embellishment  of  the 
capital.  Of  these  plans  we  get  some  hints  in  the  literature1 
of  the  period.  They  included  the  removal  of  the  squalid 
quarter  north  of  the  Forum,  the  widening  of  the  depression 
between  the  Capitoline  and  the  Quirinal,  and  the  utilization  of 
part  of  the  campus  Martius  for  distinctively  municipal  pur- 
poses. Caesar  himself  made  a  beginning  by  building  the 
forum  lulium  directly  adjoining  the  Forum  proper,  but  his 
scheme  was  not  completely  carried  out  until  a  century  and  a 
half  later.  Caesar  had  also  thought  of  diverting  the  Tiber 
from  its  course  at  a  point  near  the  pons  Mulvius,  and  carrying 
it  in  a  new  channel  to  the  west  of  the  Vatican  and  Janicu- 
lum,  thus  joining  the  two  parts  of  the  city  and  eliminating 
all  danger  of  inundation;  but  this  great  work  was  never 
actually  undertaken. 

Whether  Augustus  only  carried  out  the  plans  of  his  adoptive 
father  or  supplemented  them  with  his  own,  it  is  to  him  that 
the  chief  glory  of  transforming  Rome  must  be  assigned.  Fol- 
lowing his  example,  able  coadjutors  like  Maecenas  and  Marcus 
Agrippa  took  part  in  the  same  work,  and  to  Agrippa  especially 
no  small  share  of  the  credit  for  its  accomplishment  is  due. 
The  activity  of  the  Augustan  period  was  most  strikingly  dis- 
played in  the  Forum,  in  the  forum  of  Augustus,  in  the  district 
north  of  the  Servian  wall  near  the  Tiber,  where  the  theatre 
of  Marcellus  and  the  porticus  Octaviae  were  erected,  and  on  the 
Palatine,  where  Augustus  built  the  famous  temple  of  Apollo 

i  Cic.  ad  Att.  iv.  16.  14;  xiii.  20.  1;  33a.  1;  36.  1. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   CITY.       71 

and  the  domus  Augustana,  which,  with  its  successive  additions, 
became  from  that  time  the  residence  of  the  emperors. 

Maecenas  reclaimed  the  gruesome  region  on  the  Esquiline 
along  the  Servian  wall,  and  made  it  a  public  park ;  while 
Agrippa  erected  the  first  public  baths  and  the  original  Pan- 
theon in  the  campus  Martins,  and  spanned  the  Tiber  with  a 
new  bridge,  the  pons  Agrippae. 

No  better  r£sum6  of  what  was  accomplished  can  be  given 
than  that  which  Augustus  himself  caused  to  be  inscribed  in 
bronze  on  his  own  mausoleum  in  the  campus  Martius  (p. 
382)  :l  — 

Curiam  et  continens  ei  chalcidicum,  templumque  Apollinis  in  Palatio 
cum  porticibus,  aedem  divi  luli,  lupercal,  porticuui  ad  circuin  Flaminium, 
quam  sum  appellari  passus  ex  nomine  eius  qui  priorem  eodem  in  solo 
fecerat  Octaviam,  pulvinar  ad  circum  maximum,  aedes  in  Capitolio  lovis 
Feretri  et  lovis Tonantis,  aedem  Quirini,  aedes  Minervae  et  lunonis  Reginae 
et  lovis  Libertatis  in  Aventino,  aedem  Larum  in  summa  sacra  via,  aedem 
deurn  Penatium  in  Velia,  aedem  luventatis,  aedem  Matris  Magnae  in  Pala- 
tio f eci.  Capitolium  et  Pompeium  theatrum  utrumque  opus  impensa  grandi 
refeci  sine  ulla  inscriptione  nominis  mei.  Rivos  aquarum  compluribus 
locis  vetustate  labentes  refeci,  et  aquam  quae  Marcia  appellatur  duplicavi 
fonte  novo  in  rivum  eius  inmisso.  Forum  lulium  et  basilicam,  quae  fuit 
inter  aedem  Castoris  et  aedem  Saturni,  coepta  profligataque  opera  a  patre 
meo  perfeci  et  eandem  basilicam  consumptam  incendio  ampliato  eius  solo 
sub  titulo  nominis  filiorum  meorum  incohavi  et,  si  vivus  non  perfecissem, 
perfici  ab  heredibus  iussi.  Duo  et  octoginta  templa  deum  in  urbe  consul 
sextum  ex  decreto  senatus  refeci,  nullo  praetermisso  quod  eo  tempore 
refici  debebat.  Consul  septimum  viam  Flaminiam  ab  urbe  Ariminum  feci 
et  pontes  omnes  praeter  Mulvium  et  Minucium.  In  privato  solo  Martis 
Ultoris  templum  forumque  Augustuin  ex  manibiis  feci.  Theatrum  ad 
aedem  Apollinis  in  solo  magna  ex  parte  a  privatis  empto  feci,  quod  sub 
nomine  M.  Marcelli  generi  mei  esset. 

Augustus  introduced  the  systematic  use  of  travertine,  either 
alone,  as  in  the  theatre  of  Marcellns,  or  in  combination  with 
other  materials,  as  in  Tiberius'  restoration  of  the  temple  of 
Castor ;  and  also  the  practice  of  covering  concrete  and  brick 

i  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  1-23.    Cf.  A JA.  1905,  427-440. 


72  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

masonry  with  marble  slabs,  which  produced  such  remarkable 
results. 

•  During  the  lifetime  of  Augustus,  Tiberius  had  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  work  of  restoring  and  building;  but  after  he 
became  emperor,  his  natural  disposition  toward  economy  pre- 
vented the  continuance  of  this  policy,  almost  the  only  build- 
ings the  erection  of  which  can  be  assigned  to  him  being  the 
domus  Tiberiana  on  the  Palatine,  the  temple  of  the  deified 
Augustus,  and  an  arch  in  the  Forum. 

Caligula  added  to  the  imperial  palace  on  the  Palatine,  and 
connected  it  with  the  temples  of  Castor  and  luppiter  Capito- 
linus,  but  the  freaks  of  this  madman  left  few  permanent 
traces  in  the  city.  His  successor  Claudius  is  remembered  for 
having  brought  to  a  successful  completion  the  two  largest 
aqueducts  of  Home,  the  Anio  vetus  and  the  Claudia,  and  for 
the  enlargement  and  restoration  of  the  Circus  Maximus,  one 
of  the  most  wonderful  monuments  of  Rome. 

In  the  principate  of  Nero  occurred  the  greatest  fire  in  the 
history  of  the  city,  which  lasted,  according  to  Tacitus,1  nine 
days,  destroyed  three  regions  entirely  and  seven  others"  par- 
tially, and  left  only  four  uninjured.  This  report  is  probably 
somewhat  exaggerated,2  although  the  district  between  the  Pala- 
tine, the  Esquiline,  and  the  Caelian  was  burned  over  so  far  as 
to  offer  Nero  a  pretext  for  taking  possession  of  it  and  building 
there  his  famous  domus  Aurea.  This  park  and  palace  occu- 
pied an  area  1.5  kilometres  square,  extending  from  the  Pala- 
tine to  the  gardens  of  Maecenas  on  the  Esquiline,  and  changing 
completely  the  appearance  of  this  quarter  of  the  city. 

The  domus  Aurea  was  destroyed  by  the  Flavian  emperors, 
and  its  site  restored  to  the  use  of  the  public,  notably  by 
the  erection  of  the  Colosseum  and  the  baths  of  Titus.  To  the 

1  Ann.  xv.  38. 

a  Profumo,  Le  Fonti  ed  I  Tempi  dello  Incendio  Neroniano,  Rome,  1905; 
Emery,  Western  Reserve  University  Bulletin,  1897,  22-28 ;  Mitt.  189i,  94-97 ; 
Gilbert,  III.  34-36. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   CITY.       73 

Flavians  Rome  owed  the  arch  of  Titus  on  the  summa  Sacra 
via,  the  palace  on  the  Palatine,  the  Stadium,  the  completion 
of  the  temple  of  Claudius  on  the  Caelian,  the  forum  Pacis,  the 
third  of  the  imperial  fora,  the  templum  Sacrae  Urbis,  and  the 
temple  of  Vespasian  in  the  Forum,  besides  a  vast  amount  of 
restoration  which  was  carried  out  principally  by  Domitian. 

The  forum  Transitorium,  the  fourth  of  the  imperial  fora,  was 
begun  by  Domitian  and  finished  during  the  short  reign  of 
Nerva,  but  it  remained  for  Trajan  to  complete  the  series  with 
his  own  forum,  by  far  the  largest  and  most  magnificent  of  all. 
Space  was  obtained  for  the  construction  of  this  forum  by 
cutting  away  the  adjacent  slopes  of  the  Capitoline  and  the 
Quirinal.  This  united  the  old  Forum  and  the  campus  Martins, 
and  successfully  completed  Caesar's  plan  outlined  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  before. 

The  reign  of  Hadrian  was  preeminently  a  period  of  restora- 
tion and  rebuilding ;  yet  this  emperor,  with  the  help  of  his 
Greek  architects,  erected  at  least  three  remarkable  structures : 
the  double  temple  of  Venus  and  Roma  on  the  summa  Sacra  via ; 
the  Pantheon  in  its  present  proportions ;  and  his  own  mausoleum 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tiber,  the  present  castle  of  S.  Angelo, 
with  the  bridge,  pons  Aelius,  which  connected  it  with  the  left 
bank  of  the  river. 

The  double  temple  of  Venus  and  Roma,  the  largest  in  the 
city,  not  only  marked  a  new  departure  in  temple-building,  but 
necessitated  a  change  in  the  general  topography  of  the  imme- 
diate neighborhood  ;  the  Pantheon  still  remains  the  most  won- 
derful creation  of  Roman  architectural  genius,  and  almost  as 
strong  terms  might  be  used  in  describing  the  mausoleum. 
Hadrian  also  enlarged  very  considerably  the  palace  on  the 
Palatine. 

Under  the  Antonines  less  was  done,  the  principal  new  struc- 
tures being  the  column  and  temple  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  and  the 
temple  of  Faustina  in  the  Forum.  Severus  and  Caracalla  dis- 
played great  energy  in  repairing  the  ravages  of  time  and  of 


74  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

the  terrible  fire  of  Commodus  in  the  year  191  A.D.,  and  during 
their  reigns  almost  as  much  was  done  in  the  way  of  restora- 
tion as  by  Hadrian.  Severus  built  the  most  striking  part  of 
the  Palatine  palace,  the  so-called  Septizonium,  a  seven-zoned 
structure  at  the  south  angle  of  the  palace,  and  the  first  build- 
ing of  the  city  visible  to  one  approaching  by  the  via  Appia. 
The  decadent  taste  of  the  period  is  shown  by  the  arch  of 
Severus,  which  destroyed  the  symmetry  of  the  western  part  of 
the  Forum. 

Just  south  of  the  Aventine,  Caracalla  built  his  famous  baths, 
which  were  exceeded  in  size  only  by  those  afterward  erected 
by  Diocletian  on  the  Viminal.  These  thermae  formed  one  of 
the  most  striking  features  of  the  city,  there  being  no  less  than 
eleven  in  the  time  of  Constantine,  enormous  in  extent  and 
imposing  in  appearance. 

During  the  hundred  years  from  Caracalla  to  Maxentius,  with 
the  exception  of  the  baths  of  Alexander  and  Diocletian,  and 
the  temple  on  the  Quirinal,  which  has  often  been  called 
Aurelian's  temple  of  the  Sun,  no  remarkable  works  were  added 
to  those  already  in  existence.  The  Heroon  of  Romulus,  the 
son  of  Maxentius,  in  the  Forum,  and  the  arch  and  basilica  of 
Constantine  were  the  last  great  triumphs  of  Roman  archi- 
tecture, and  with  them  the  development  of  imperial  Rome  may 
be  said  to  have  ceased. 

The  result  of  Caesar's  plans  and  the  initiative  of  Augustus 
had  been  the  creation  of  the  most  magnificent  city  which  the 
world  has  ever  seen,1  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  these 
countless  marvellous  buildings  of  all  descriptions,  as  well  as 
the  streets  and  squares,  were  completely  fil-led  with  treasures 
of  art  which  for  five  oenturies  had  been  flowing  in  a  steady 
stream  from  all  parts  of  the  world  to  enrich  its  capital. 

1  See  Biihlmann  und  Wagner,  Das  Alte  Rom.  Rundgemdlde  von  Rom  mil 
dem  Triumphzuge  Constantins  in  Jahre  312  A.D.  Munich,  1892:  a  photo- 
graphic reproduction  of  a  panorama,  painted  by  these  artists,  representing  a 
restoration  of  the  Rome  of  the  fourth  century,  taken  from  the  Capitol. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  TIBER  AND   ITS   BRIDGES. 

The  Tiber. —  The  Tiber  flows  through  Rome  in  a  channel 
which  in  classical  times  varied  in  width  from  60  to  100  metres. 
So  great  is  the  amount  of  sand  and  mud  which  the  river 
has  always  carried  down,  —  according  to  recent  calculations 
4,000,000  cubic  metres  annually,  —  that  the  seashore  at  its 
mouth  has  steadily  advanced,  and  the  site  of  the  original 
town  of  Ostia  is  now  6600  metres  inland.  The  continual  for- 
mation of  bars  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  the  consequent 
obstruction  of  navigation,  as  well  as  the  increase  in  the  dan- 
ger of  inundation  as  far  up  as  Rome,  made  it  necessary  for  the 
Roman  engineers  to  spend  much  labor  on  the  harbor  at  Ostia 
in  dredging  the  old  channels  and  in  cutting  new  ones.  Inscrip- 
tions1 of  Claudius  and  Trajan  record  measures  of  this  sort. 
At  Rome,  the  result  of  this  alluvial  deposit  has  been  to  raise 
the  bed  of  the  river  1  metre  since  the  fall  of  the  empire. 

The  inundations  of  the  Tiber  have  always  been  a  source  of 
great  danger  to  large  sections  of  the  city,  not  only  near  the 
river,  where  the  water  actually  overflows,  but  as  far  away 
as  the  Pantheon,  where  the  water  sets  back  through  under- 
ground channels.  One  hundred  and  thirty-two  of  these  inun- 
dations 2  have  been  recorded  since  the  traditional  one  when 
Romulus  and  Remus  were  exposed  to  the  flood,  one  hundred 
and  six  of  them  since  the  Christian  era.  The  highest  was 
that  of  1598,  when  the  river  rose  19.56  metres  above  its 
ordinary  level.  To  guard  in  some  measure  against  the  dan- 
gers of  inundation,  especially  the  cutting  away  of  the  banks, 

1  GIL.  xiv.  86.  3  Lanciani,  Ruins,  10. 

76 


76          TOPOGKAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

the  Romans  began  to  build  protecting  walls  at  various  points  1 
at  least  as  early  as  the  second  century  B.C.,  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  opus  quadratum  which  surrounds  the  mouth  of  the 
Cloaca  Maxima  is  older  still. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  republic,  the  general  oversight 
of  the  river  and  its  banks  was  intrusted  to  certain  curatores 
appointed  by  the  senate,  and  in  the  year  15  A.D.  they  were 
organized  into  a  standing  board,  the  curatores  alvei  Tiberis  et 
riparum  (later,  et  cloacarum  urbis).2  To  this  board  was 
intrusted  the  dredging  of  the  channel,  the  building  and 
repairing  of  the  river  walls,  and  the  determination  of  the 
width  of  the  strip  of  land  on  each  side  of  the  stream  which 
technically  formed  the  ripae.  This  strip  was  marked  off  by 
a  line  of  terminal  stones,  at  irregular  intervals,  which  formed 
the  boundary  between  public  and  -private  domain.  The  width 
of  these  ripae  is  unknown,  but  judging  from  the  position  of 
those  terminal  stones  which  have  been  found,  they  must 
have  extended  in  length  from  the  pons  Mulvius  to  the  church 
of  S.  Paolo  fuori  le  mura,  3  kilometres  below  the  city.  In- 
scribed cippi 3  have  been  found  dating  from  54  B.C.  to  the 
reign  of  Hadrian. 

Remains  of  walls  of  tufa,  travertine,  and  brick  have  been 
found  at  various  points  along  the  river,  which  date  from  the 
earlier  empire,  but  there  is  no  definite  reference  in  literature 
or  inscriptions  to  such  embankments  before  the  third  century.4 
The  present  government  has  been  engaged  for  many  years  in 
building  a  magnificent  embankment  along  both  sides  of  the 
river  for  the  whole  extent  of  its  course  through  the  -city,  and 
this  great  undertaking  has  now  been  practically  completed. 
The  channel  provided  for  the  river  is  100  metres  in  width, 

i  BC.  1889,  166-172;  Mitt.  1889,  285. 
«  BC.  1889,  185-205 ;  1894,  39-51,  354-359. 

«  GIL.  vi.  1234-1242;  31540-31557;  Mitt.  1891,  130-136;  1892,  328-329;  1893, 
319-320;  BC.  1904,  88-90;  1006,  117. 
*  Vop.  Vit.  Aur.  47 ;  CIL.  vi.  1242. 


THE   TIBER   AND   ITS  BRIDGES.  77 

except  where  it  divides  in  flowing  round  the  island,  and  the 
old  line  of  the  banks  has  been  very  materially  altered  by  this 
process  of  straightening. 

While  this  work  was  in  progress  near  the  pons  Aelius,  the 
embankments  of  the  empire  were  discovered,  and  it  was  found 
that  the  bed  was  not  made  of  equal  width  to  the  full  depth  of 
the  stream,  but  that  its  section  was  triple,  thus  providing  a 
suitable  channel  for  the  river  at  all  stages  of  low  or  high 
water.1 

Bridges. —  The  development  of  the  relations  between  the  left 
and  the  right  banks  of  the  Tiber  is  illustrated  by  the  history 2 
of  the  successive  bridges  from  the  earliest  times  down  to  the 
fifth  century.  If  pontifex  is  really  derived  from  pons-facere,3 
the  authority  of  this  college  in  matters  of  state  religion  may 
have  been  partly  due  to  the  importance  of  the  bridge  to  the 
earliest  settlers. 

The  bridges  over  the  Tiber  were  constructed  in  the  following 
chronological  order. 

(1)  Pons  Sublicius.  Tradition  agrees  4  in  ascribing  to  Ancus 
Marcius  the  erection  of  the  first  bridge.  It  was  called  the 
pons  Sublicius,  from  sublica,5  a  pile,  and  was  constructed 
wholly  of  wood  without  metal  of  any  sort  whatsoever.6  This 
bridge  was  invested  with  a  sacred  character,  so  that  its  pres- 
ervation became  a  matter  of  religion,  and  after  having  been 
rebuilt  many  times,  it  was  still  in  existence  in  the  fifth  century. 
Its  antiquity  is  vouched  for  by  its  method  of  construction, 


1  For  the  literature,  mostly  Italian,  bearing  on  the  Tiber,  its  peculiarities, 
inundations,  embankments,  etc.,  see  Lanciani,  Ruins,  10,  12,  13. 

2  Jordan,  I.  1.  393-430:  Mayerhofer,  Die  Briicken  im    alien  Rom,  Gesch.- 
topographische  Studien,  1-63 ;  Zippel,   JJ.   1886,  481-499 ;   Lanciani,  Ruins, 
16-26. 

8Cf.,  however,  Archivf.  lat.  Lex.  1908,  221;  Walde,  Lat.  etym.  Wiirterb. 

*  Liv.  i.  33;  Dionys.  iii.  45;  Plut.  Numa,  9. 

5  Fest.  293.  6  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  100. 


78  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

which  seems  to  have  belonged  to  the  period  before  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Latium  had  developed  the  working  of  metal  far  enough 
for  use  in  bridge-building;  and  we  shall  probably  not  be  far 
out  of  the  way  in  assigning  its  first  erection  to  the  second  stage 
of  the  city's  growth  when  the  construction  of  the  Nova  via 
points  to  a  connection  between  the  old  Sacra  via  and  the  bridge 
across  the  Tiber.1  The  earliest  form  of  this  bridge  was  doubt- 
less very  simple,  perhaps  a  series  of  floats  which  could  easily 
be  disconnected  at  the  approach  of  an  enemy. 

The  position  of  the  pons  Sublicius  is  uncertain.2  The  early 
settlers  of  Rome  might  have  taken  advantage  of  the  island  as 
a  natural  means  of  connection  between  the  banks  of  the  river, 
and  might  have  preferred  to  build  two  short  bridges  from  it  to 
either  side,  rather  than  a  long  one  below  or  above.  The  first 
reference  to  bridges  to  and  from  the  island  occurs  in  Livy's 3 
history  of  the  year  192  B.C.,  where  they  are  called  duos  pontes, 
and  later  the  island  itself  was  spoken  of  as  inter  duos  pontes.4 
It  is  certain  that  a  bridge  was  built  from  the  left  bank  to  the 
island  as  early  as  the  year  291  B.C.,  when  the  worship  of 
Aesculapius  was  established  there,  and  by  no  means  improb- 
able that  it  was  built  long  before  that  date.  As  these  early 
bridges  were  probably  of  wood,  some  have  maintained  that  the 
first  pons  Sublicius  consisted  of  the  two  which  crossed  at  the 
island.  From  the  island  as  an  extreme  northern  point, 
the  pons  Sublicius  has  been  placed  in  various  positions,  as  far 
down  as  the  Aventine  below  the  porta  Trigemina.  The 
strongest  evidence  seems  to  indicate  a  point  between  the  porta 


1  Mitt.  1895,  160-162. 

2  Gilbert,  II.  171-183,  217-223;  Richter,  Die  Befestigung  des  Janiculum, 
14  if.;  Mommsen,  Ber.  d.  k.  sacks.  Gesell.  d.   Wiss.  1850,  320-326;  Urlichs, 
Sitzungsb.  d.  k.  bayr.  Akad.  1870,  459-499;  Wecklein,  Hermes,  1872,  178-184; 
Jordan,  1. 1.  402-407;  3.  632;  Besnier,  L'fle  Tibe"rine  dans  I'Antiquite',  Paris, 
1!K)2,  123-132. 

»  xxxv.  21.  5. 

4  Jordan,  FUR.  42;  Macrob,  Sat.  iii.  16.  14-17. 


THE   TIBER   AND   ITS   BRIDGES.  79 

Trigemina  and  the   ruined   ponte   Rotto,  and   very  probably 
close  to  the  latter. 

(2)  Pens  Mulvius,  the  modern  ponte   Molle.     This  was  the 
next  in  order  of  time  after  the  pons  Sublicius  and  the  island- 
bridges,  and  carried  the  great  via  Flaminia  across  the  Tiber,  3 
kilometres  north  of  the  city.     As  this  road  was  built  in  220  B.C., 
the  bridge  must  be  at  least  as  old,  and  may  very  probably  be 
older,  but  the  first  reference  to  it  is  in  the  year  207  B.C.1    Who 
Mulvius  was  is  unknown.     Twice2  Aemilius  Scaurus,  censor 
in  110  B.C.,  is  spoken  of  as  its  builder,  and  it  needed  no  resto- 
ration 3  by  Augustus.     Of  the  six  arches  of  the  present  struc- 
ture, —  restored  for  the  last  time  in  1808,  —  four  are  ancient, 
but  whether  they  belong  to  the  bridge  of  110  B.C.  is  uncertain. 
The  material  of  the  bridge  is  peperino,  with  travertine  facing. 

(3)  Pons  Aemilius,  probably  the  ruined  ponte  Rotto,  although 
some  uncertainty4  attaches  to  the  history  and  identification  of 
this  bridge.     The  evidence  is  very  scanty,5  but  seems  to  in- 
dicate that  this  was  the  name  given  to  the  first  stone  bridge 
within  the  limits  of  the   city,  which  was  begun  in  179  and 
finished  in   142   B.C.     It   crossed  the  river  from  the  forum 
Boarium,  just  above  the  pons  Sublicius,  and  was  known  in  the 
fourth  and  fifth  centuries  as  the  pons  Lapideus  and  pons  Lepidi ; 6 
in  the  middle  ages  as  the  pons  Senatorum7  and  pons  Sanctae  Mariae. 
In  1598  part  of  the  bridge  was  carried  away  by  a  flood,  and 
not  being  repaired,  it  was  thenceforth  called  the  ponte  Rotto. 
One  arch   only  now  stands  iii  mid-stream.     By  some  this  is 
thought  to  be  the  bridge  which  was  restored  by  the  emperor 
Probus,  and  which  is  called  pons  Probi  in  the  Notitia. 


1  Liv.  xxvii.  51;  Delbriick,  Hellenist  is che  Bauten  in  Latium,  Strassburg, 
1907,  3-12. 

2  Auct.  Vir.  III.  72;  Amm.  Marc,  xxvii.  3.  9.         «  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  20. 

4  Her.  d.  k.  sacks.  Gesell.  1850,  320-326;  Gilbert,  III.  257-260;  Delbriick, 
op.  cit.  12-22. 

6  Plut.  Numa,  9;  Liv.  xl.  51.  4;  GIL.  i.«  p.  325;  Lamprid.  Vit.  Elag.  17. 
•  Aethicus,  Coymog.  54.  J  Mirabilia,  11. 


80  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

(4)  Pons  Pabricius,  the  modern  ponte  del  Quattro  Capi.     This 
stone  bridge1  still  joins  the  left  bank  of  the  river  with  the 
island.     Inscriptions  over  the  arches  state  that  the  bridge  was 
built  by  L.  Fabricius,  curator  viarum,  in  62  B.C.,  and  restored 
by  M.  Lollius  and  Q.  Lepidus  in  21  B.C.     This  structure  is  the 
one  now  standing,  no  further  restorations  of  importance  having 
been  necessary.     It  is  built  of  tufa  and  peperino  with  traver- 
tine facing,  and  has  two  semicircular  arches,  with   a  smaller 
one  in  the  pier  between.     The  present  parapet  is  modern,  but 
the  original  was  divided  into  panels  by  pilasters  supporting 
four-headed  hermae,   and   connected  by   a  metal   balustrade. 
The  two  hermae  at  the  east  end  of  the  bridge  are  original,  and 
from  them  the  modern  name  is  derived.     During  the  middle 
ages  the  bridge  was  known  as  the  pons  ludaeorum,  as  it  crossed 
the  river  directly  from  the  Ghetto. 

(5)  Pons  Oestius,  the  modern  ponte  di  S.  Bartolomeo.     This 
bridge  leads  from  the  island  to  the  right  bank  of  the  river.     It 
is  first  mentioned  in  the  Notitia,  but  its  identification  with  the 
bridge  restored  by  Symmachus  in   370  A.D.  and   thenceforth 
known  as  pons  Gratiani,2  is  certain.     Its  original  construction 
dates  from  the  same  period  as  the  pons  Fabricius,  probably  be- 
tween 72  and  44  B.C.,  when  the  Cestii  were  in  close  relation 
with  the  leading  statesmen  of  Rome.     Further  restoration  was 
made  in  the  eleventh  century  and  recently  in  1886-1889.3    Of 
the  three  arches  of  the  present  structure,  the  central  one  is 
ancient,  and  dates  from  the  restoration  under  Gratian. 

(6)  Pons  Agrippae.    Our  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  this 
bridge  rests  upon  the  inscription  *  on  a  stone  cippus  discovered 
in  1877,  and  upon  the  discovery,  a  dozen  years  later,  of  the 


1  Dio  Cass.  xxxvii.  45;  Porph.  ad.  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  3.  36;  OIL.  i.  600;  vi.  1305; 
Mitt.  1891,  135;  Besnier,  L'lle  Tiberine,  94-105. 

2  Pol.  Silvius,  545;  GIL.  vi.  1175;  Besnier,  op.cit.  107-119. 
«  Mitt.  1889,  282-285. 

*  CIL.  vi.  31545. 


THE   TIBER   AND   ITS   BRIDGES.  81 

remains  of  sunken  piers,1  100  metres  above  the  ponte  Sisto. 
There  is  no  other  information  in  regard  to  the  building,  pur- 
pose, or  history  of  this  bridge,  but  its  existence  seems  to  be  an 
assured  fact. 

(7)  Pons  Neronianus.    In  the  Mirabilia  mention  is  made  of 
the  pons  Neronianus,  which  is  further  described,  in  a  later 
edition  of  this  Mirabilia,2  as  pons  ruptus  ad  S.  Spiritum  in 
Sassia.     The  remains  of  its  piers  are  about  100  metres  below 
the  ponte  S.  Angelo,  and  can  still  be  seen  at  low  water.     As 
this  bridge3  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Notitia,  it  must  have  been 
destroyed  before  the  time  of  Constantine.     It  connected  the 
campus  Martius  with  the  Vatican  meadows  where  were   the 
gardens  of  Agrippina  and  the  circus  of  Nero,  in  which  that 
emperor   was  especially  fond  of   indulging  in  all  manner   of 
sports  and  orgies,  and  it  was  probably  built  between  60  and 
64  A.D.,  to  facilitate  communication  between  this  district  and 
the  city.     The  later  pons  Aelius  rendered  Nero's  bridge  un- 
necessary. 

(8)  Pons  Aelius.  the  modern  ponte  S.  Angelo.     This  bridge 
was  built  by  Hadrian  *  in  connection  with  his   great  mauso- 
leum, and  finished  in  134  A.D.     It  was  afterward  called  pons 
Hadrian!   and  pons   Sancti  Petri.5     As   originally  built,6  it  con- 
sisted of  three  main  arches  in  the  centre,  with  three  smaller 
ones  on  the  left  and  two  on  the  right,  making  eight  in   all. 
From  the  central  part,  over  the  three  main  arches,  the  bridge 
sloped  in  each  direction  to  the   banks,  more   steeply  on  the 
left  than  on  the  right.     The  material  is  peperino  with  traver- 
tine facings.     With  the  exception  of* the  balustrade,  which  was 
mostly  a  restoration  of  the  middle  ages,  the  ancient  structure 


1  NS.  1887,  323;  BC.  1887,  306-313;  1888,  92-98;  Mitt.  1889,285-286;  1891, 
135-136. 

2  Anon.  Magliabecchianus,  158.  *  Gilbert,  in.  261. 
*  Spart.  Vit.  Hadr.  xix.  11 ;  OIL.  vi.  973;  Dio  Cass.  Ixix.  23. 
6  Anon.  Magliab.  158. 

*BC.  1888,129-131;  1893,  14-26;  NS.  1892,  411-428;  Mitt.  1893,  321-324. 


82  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

of  Hadrian  was  preserved  until  1892,  although  two  of  the 
arches  at  the  left  end  had  been  covered  up  by  the  embank- 
ment and  were  not  visible. 

The  building  of  the  new  embankment  has  rendered  it  neces- 
sary to  rebuild  completely  the  ends  of  the  bridge,  so  that  only 
the  three  central  arches  of  the  original  structure  remain. 

(9)  Pons  Aurelius,  the  modern  ponte  Sisto.     In  the  list  of 
bridges  in  the  Notitia,  we  find  the  pons  Aurelius.     This  name 
does  not  occur  in  the  guide-books  of  the  middle  ages,  but  in 
its  place  a  pons  Antonini,1  or  pons  lanicularis,2  which  was  par- 
tially destroyed  in  772  and  called  pons  ruptus  until  1475,  when 
it  was  rebuilt  in  its  present  shape  by  Sixtus  V,  and  known 
thenceforth  as  the  ponte  Sisto. 

In  1878,  immediately  below  the  first  arch  of  the  ponte  Sisto, 
were  found 3  fragments  of  an  earlier  bridge  and  also  of  a  memo- 
rial arch  which  stood  at  its  entrance.  On  some  of  these  frag- 
ments is  an  inscription  which  records  the  rebuilding  of  arch 
and  bridge  by  the  emperor  Valentinian  in  the  years  365-366 
A.D.4  The  identification  of  this  bridge  of  Valentinian  with 
the  pons  Antonini  and  the  pons  Aurelius  is  now  regarded  as 
certain ;  and  while  nothing  is  known  as  to  the  time  when  it 
was  first  erected,  the  fact  that  it  bore  the  names  of  Aurelius 
and  Antoninus  makes  it  certain  that  it  was  built  by  one  of  the 
emperors  who  belonged  to  both  these  families.  It  is  usually 
attributed  to  Caracalla,  who  thus  brought  the  buildings  erected 
by  Severus  in  Trastevere5  into  closer  connection  with  the 
campus  Martius.  It  may,  however,  with  equal  probability 
be  assigned  to  Marcus  Aurelius. 

(10)  Pons  Probi.     In  the  Notitia  the  list  of  bridges  then  exist- 
ing in  Rome  reads  thus :  pontes  octo,  Aelius  Aemilius  Aurelius 
Mulvius  Sublicius  Fabricius  Cestius  Probi.     The  identification 


i  Mirabilia,  11.  2  Anon.  Maglidb.  158.  «  RC.  1878,  241 ;  1881,  11. 

4  OIL.  vi.  31402-31412;  EE.  iv.  799,  800;  Amm.  Marc,  xxvii.  3.  3;  NS.  1892, 
50,  234-235.  6  Spart.  Vit.  Sev.  19. 


THE   TIBER   AND   ITS   BRIDGES.  83 

of  this  last  is  still  very  doubtful.  The  name  occurs  only  once 
elsewhere,  in  an  enarratio  fabricarum  urbis  Romae,  taken 
from  the  Curiosum  and  inserted  in  the  calendar  published  by 
Polemius  Silvius  in  the  year  448  A.D.  In  the  Mirabilia  we 
find  mention  of  the  pons  Theodosii,1  —  also  called  pens  Marmoreus 
and  pons  in  ripa  Komaea,  —  and  to  this  bridge  there  are  several 
references  in  the  letters  of  Symmachus,2  from  which  it  ap- 
pears that,  although  begun  in  381,  it  was  not  finished  until 
387  A.D.  It  was  the  last  of  the  bridges  of  the  city,  and  the 
farthest  down-stream,  as  it  crossed  the  river  under  the  Aven- 
tine  near  the  Marmorata,  It  was  partially  destroyed  in  the 
eleventh  century,  and  completely  in  1484.  The  bases  of  the 
piers  still  exist  beneath  the  level  of  the  river.  The  identi- 
fication of  this  pons  Theodosii  with  the  pons  Probi  depends 
upon  the  answer  given  to  the  question  whether  or  not  Theo- 
dosius  erected  au  absolutely  new  structure  where  none  had 
previously  existed.  Decisive  evidence  is  lacking,3  and  scholars 
are  quite  equally  divided.  If  the  pons  Probi  is  not  the  pons 
Theodosii,  then  the  former  name  must  have  belonged  to  one  of 
the  other  bridges,  probably  the  pons  Aemilius,  which  may  have 
been  restored  by  Probus. 

Insula  Tiberina.  —  The  island  4  in  the  Tiber  seems  to  be  the 
extremity  of  the  ridge  of  which  the  Capitoline  is  a  part. 
Owing  perhaps  to  the  harder  character  of  its  tufa,  the  river 
did  not  cut  it  away  entirely,  but  divided  and  flowed  on  either 
side.  The  island  thus  formed  is  269  metres  long  and  its 
greatest  width  is  67  metres.  According  to  tradition,5  its  for- 
mation was  due  to  the  great  quantity  of  grain  which  was  cut 
from  the  estates  of  the  Tarquins  in  the  campus  Martius  after 


1  Mitt.  1893,  320 ;  Gilbert,  HI.  262. 

*Epist.  iv.  70.  2;  v.  76.  3.  *  BC.  1877,  167;  1878,  243-247. 

4  Besnier,  L'fle  Tibtrine  dans  I' Antiquity  (Bibliotheque  des  Ecoles  fran- 
9aises  d'Athenes  et  de  Rome),  Paris,  1902. 
«  Liv.  ii.  5;  Dionys.  v.  13;  Plut.  Pop/.  8. 


84 


TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 


the  expulsion  of  the  kings,  and  thrown  into  the  river  just 
above  this  point.  Whether  the  first  bridge  built  by  the  Ro- 
mans crossed  the  island  or  not  (p.  78),  there  is  no  allusion 
to  any  connection  between  it  and  the  city  until  291  B.C.,  and 
it  formed  no  integral  part  of  the  city  until  some  time  after 
that  date.  In  the  reorganization  of  Augustus,  it  was  included 
in  region  XIV. 


FIG.  8.  —  THE  INSULA  TIBERINA. 


1.  S.  Bartolomeo. 

2.  S.  Giovanni. 

3.  Morgue. 


4.  Mosaic  of  luppiter 

lurarius. 

5.  Modern  Mole. 


In  the  year  292  B.C.,  in  consequence  of  a  pestilence  in  Rome, 
an  embassy  was  sent  to  Epidaurus  l  to  bring  back  the  statue 
of  the  god  Aesculapius.  The  embassy  returned  the  next  year, 
bringing,  not  the  statue,  but  a  serpent  from  Epidaurus,  which 
abandoned  the  ship  and  swam  to  the  island.  A  temple  to 
Aesculapius 2  was  at  once  erected  and  the  whole  island  conse- 

1  Liv.  x.  47;  Epit.  xi;  Ov.  Met.  xv.  739;  Val.  Max.  i.  8.  2. 

2  Plut.  Quaest.  Rom.  94;  Gilbert,  III.  72-73;  Jordan,  Commentarii  in  hon. 
Mommsen,  356-396;  GIL.  vi.  9-12. 


THE  TIBER  AND  ITS  BRIDGES.  85 

crated  as  its  temenos.  It  became  therefore  sacra,  and  did  not 
pass  into  private  possession.  The  island  was  also  known  as 
insula  Aesculapii,1  insula  serpentis  Epidauri,2  and  inter  duos  pontes.3 
The  temple  was  restored,4  probably  about  the  time  when  the 
pons  Fabricius  was  built,  and  its  site  is  now  occupied  by  the 
church  of  S.  Bartolomeo.  Some  of  the  columns  of  the  nave 
belonged  probably  to  the  temple  or  to  the  neighboring  porticus. 

Two  other  temples  were  afterward  erected  within  the  origi- 
nal temenos  of  Aesculapius.  (1)  The  temple  of  Faunas,  which 
was  vowed  in  196  and  dedicated  in  194  B.C.5  It  was  built 
with  money  received  in  fines,  and  is  described  as  prostyle  in 
form.6  (2)  The  temple  of  luppiter,  which  was  vowed  by  L. 
Furius  Purpureo  in  200  B.C.  and  dedicated  January  1,  194.7 
It  is  probable  that  the  cult  here  celebrated  was  that  of  luppiter 
Veiovis,8  and  that  this  temple  stood  in  some  relation  to  that  of 
luppiter  Veiovis  on  the  Capitoline. 

Besides  these  three  temples,  there  was  a  shrine  to  the  river 
god  Tiberinus,9  to  whom  a  sacrifice  was  offered  on  December  8, 
and  an  altar,  or  shrine,  to  Semo  Sancus 10  or  Deus  Fidius>  which 
gave  rise  to  the  belief  among  the  early  Christians  that  Simon 
Magus  was  worshipped  here. 

As  a  result  of  the  legend  that  the  serpent  had  been  brought 
by  ship  from  Epidaurus,  the  island  itself  was  made  to  resemble 
a  ship.  A  stone  platform  was  built  round  it,  and  upon  this 
a  wall  was  erected  which  in  shape  exactly  reproduced  the 


1  Suet.  Claud.  25. 

2  Sidon.  Apoll.  Epist.  i.  7. 

8  Jordan,  FUR.  42;  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  145; 
*  Varro,  LL.  vii.  57 ;  GIL.  vi.  6,  7,  12. 

6  OIL.  i.2  p.  309;  Liv.  xxxiii.  42;  xxxiv.  53;  Ov.  Fast.  ii.  193. 
«  Vitr.  iii.  2.  3. 

7  Ov.  Fast.  i.  293 ;  Liv.  xxxi.  21. 

8  Gilbert,  III.  82-84;  Jordan,  I.  3.   635.    Cf.  for  opposite  view,  Besnier, 
op.  cit.  249-272. 

»  OIL.  i.2  p.  336. 

w  GIL.  vi.  567;  Justin.  Martyr.  Apol.  i.  26;  Jordan,  L  3.  636. 


86  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

sides  of  a  Roman  ship.1  Before  the  great  changes  in  the  river- 
bed caused  by  the  building  of  the  new  embankments,  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  travertine  stern  could  still  be  seen  at 
the  east  end  of  the  island.  An  obelisk,  fragments  of  which 
are  in  the  museum  at  Naples,  is  thought  to  have  represented 
the  mast.  We  have  no  information  as  to  the  time  when  this 
curious  idea  was  carried  out,  but  the  remains  of  the  walls 
point  to  the  same  period  as  that  of  the  construction  of  the  pons 
Fabricius,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  erection  of  the  two 
stone  bridges  was  part  of  the  same  plan  as  the  building  of  the 
ship. 

Suetonius 2  says  that  sick  slaves  were  brought  to  the  temple 
of  Aesculapius  and  left  there  to  be  cured,  and  in  general  it 
appears  that  there  was  some  attempt  to  reproduce  the  effect  of 
the  great  sanitarium  at  Epidaurus. 

A  statue  of  Julius  Caesar 3  was  erected  on  the  island,  and  we 
know  of  a  vicu-s  Censorius*  In  the  middle  ages  the  island  was 
called  insula  Lycaonia,6  for  some  unknown  reason. 

The  Emporium.  —  The  first  traffic  with  the  seacoast  in  which 
Rome  engaged  was  in  salt,  which  was  brought  by  boat  from 
Ostia  to  the  Salinae,6  or  salt  warehouses  just  outside  the  porta 
Trigemina,  and  thence  by  the  via  Salaria 7  into  the  interior. 

In  time  other  commodities,  as  wood,  wine,  corn,  and  oil,  be- 
gan to  be  imported  by  ship,  and  the  Salinae  formed  the  nucleus 
from  which  was  developed  the  harbor  and  warehouse  system 
of  Rome.  After  the  city  became  a  metropolis  and  goods  of  all 
descriptions  were  imported  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  the 
business  of  this  region  increased  most  remarkably.  Compara- 
tively few  of  the  ships  that  brought  wares  from  over  sea  sailed 
up  to  the  city,  their  cargoes  being  transferred  at  Ostia. 


i  Ann.  d.  1st.  1867,  389  ff .  2  Claud.  25. 

8  Tac.  Hist.  i.  86.  *  OIL.  vi.  975.  6  Jordan,  I.  3.  631. 

«  Liv.  i.  33 ;  PI.  NH.  xxxi.  89;  Solin.  i.  8.  '  Fest.  Epit.  327. 


THE   TIBER   AND   ITS   BRIDGES.  87 

The  character  of  the  river  banks  is  such  that  something  in 
the  way  of  wharves  or  landing-places  must  have  been  provided 
at  an  early  date ;  but  the  first  record  of  anything  of  this  sort 
is  in  the  year  199  B.C.,1  when  the  aedileship  of  M.  Aemilius 
Lepidus  and  L.  Aemilius  Paulus  was  signalized  by  the  building 
of  the  porticus  Aemilia  beyond  the  porta  Trigemina,  emporio 
ad  Tiberim  adiecto. 

The  term  Emporium,2  mentioned  here  for  the  first  time,  was 
applied  to  the  bank  itself  and  to  the  ground  stretching  back 
from  it  for  some  little  distance,  which  was  used  as  a  landing- 
place,  storehouse,  and  market.  In  the  year  174  B.C.  this  open 
Emporium,3  which  extended  down  the  river  from  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  Aventine,  was  paved,  inclosed  with  barriers,  and 
provided  with  flights  of  steps  leading  down  to  the  water's 
edge.  These  steps  rendered  a  river  wall  necessary,  which  was 
extended  as  the  demands  of  commerce  increased,  until  the 
whole  bank,  for  1  kilometre  down-stream  from  the  porta  Tri- 
gemina, had  been  converted  into  one  long  quay. 

The  name  portus,4  in  its  widest  meaning,  was  applied  to  the 
entire  harbor,  but  it  was  also  applied,  with  limiting  adjectives, 
to  different  sections  of  the  quay,  which  were  assigned  to  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  goods,  as  portus  vinarius 5  and  portus  lignarius.6 
Some  of  these  sections  seem  to  have  been  under  the  control  of 
private  individuals,  and  to  have  been  called  by  their  names,  as 
the  portus  Licinii,  etc.7  It  is,  however,  not  entirely  certain  that 
all  these  sections  of  quay  were  in  this  region. 

Excavations8  carried  on  along  the  river  since  1868  have 
brought  to  light  fragments  of  the -wall  and  quay  and  of  the 
steps  and  paved  inclines  which  led  down  to  the  water  to  facili- 


i  Liv.  xxxv.  10.  12.        2  Gilbert,  III.  240-243;  Jordan,  I.  1.  429-434;  3. 171-173. 

8  Liv.  xli.  27.  8 ;  Jordan,  FUR.  44. 

4  Jordan,  1. 1.  429-430 ;  3.  174.  6  OIL.  vi.  9189-9190. 

6  Liv.  xxxv.  41. 

i  Cassiod.  i.  25 ;  GIL.  xv.  408-412 ;  NS.  1892,  347. 

8  Bull.  d.  1st.  1872, 134-135;  BC.  1886,  34-35. 


88  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

tate  unloading,  and  a  few  of  the  stone  corbels,  sometimes  in 
the  shape  of  lions'  heads,  which  projected  out  from  the  quay 
and  were  pierced  with  holes  for  mooring-rings.  Part  of  the 
masonry  of  this  quay  is  of  opus  quadratum  and  belongs  to  the 
last  century  of  the  republic,  but  the  greater  portion  is  of 
brickwork l  and  dates  from  the  time  of  Hadrian. 

Under  the  empire,  one  of  the  chief  articles  of  import  was 
marble,  and  a  long  stretch  of  quay,  beneath  the  Aventine  and 
above  the  Emporium  proper,  was  devoted  to  its  reception. 
This  part  was  called  the  Marmorata,  a  name  still  preserved  in 
the  via  della  Marmorata.  There  was  also  an  officina  marmoraria.2 
where  the  stone  was  worked. 

In  the  years  of  1868-1870,  more  than  six  hundred  blocks 8  of 
unused  marble  were  found  scattered  over  the  Marmorata  and 
the  Emporium,  some  of  which  are  still  to  be  seen.  Many  of 
them  had  Greek  inscriptions.  Besides  the  Marmorata,  another 
wharf,  built  for  the  landing  of  marbles,  was  discovered  in  1891, 
about  150  metres  above  the  ponte  S.  Angelo.4  This  was  not  a 
quay,  but  a  stone  platform,  26  metres  long  and  14  wide,  pro- 
jecting into  the  river  at  an  angle  of  40°.  The  convenience  of 
having  a  landing-place  for  marble  and  granite  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  city  is  obvious.  Outside  the  porta  Trigemina  was 
a  column  or  statue  of  L.  Minucius  Augurinus,5  praefectus 
annonae  in  439  B.C.,  erected  by  popular  subscription. 

Navalia. — The  Navalia,  or  docks  for  ships  of  war,6  were 
beyond  the  porta  Flumentana  in  the  campus  Martius,  opposite 
the  prata  Quinctia  (p.  508),  just  west  of  the  modern  palazzo 
Earnese.  We  do  not  know  when  they  were  first  constructed, 


1  Ber.  d.  k.  sacks  Gesell.  18*8,  137  ff.  2  BC.  1891,  23-36. 

8  Ann.  d.  1st.  1870,  106-204 ;  NS.  1886,  22. 
*  BC.  1891,  45-BO;  1892,  175-178;  Mitt.  1892,  322-326. 
«  PI.  NH.  xviii.  15;  xxxiv.  21. 

«Liv.  iii.  26  ;  Plut.  Cato  Min.  39;  Gilbert,  III.  146-150;  Richter,  Top. *  200- 
203;  Jordan,  FUR.  45-46;  Jordan,  I.  3.  485-486. 


THE   TIBER   AND   ITS   BRIDGES.  89 

but  it  was  prior  to  338  B.C.,  for  in  that  year  the  ships  captured 
at  Antium1  were  moored  at  these  docks.  The  mooring  of 
captured  ships  here  continued  to  be  the  custom  for  nearly 
two  centuries,  as  those  taken  from  the  Macedonians  were 
also  brought  here  in  167. 2  In  the  middle  of  the  second  century 
B.C.  the  docks  were  burned,  and  rebuilt  by  the  Greek  architect 
Hermodorus.3  References  to  them  after  this  date  are  infre- 
quent, but  in  the  sixth  century  Procopius 4  speaks  of  them  as 
ev  ///fo-Tj  rrj  TrdAct,  which  probably  means  that  they  were  within 
the  line  of  the  fortifications  of  Aurelian.  The  Navalia  in- 
cluded an  arsenal,  which  seems  to  have  become  a  sort  of 
museum,  and  other  buildings  for  various  purposes,  and  must 
have  covered  a  considerable  area.  Whether  ships  were  actu- 
ally built  at  these  docks5  is  a  disputed  point.  In  any  case, 
their  importance  must  have  declined  very  rapidly  after  the 
second  Punic  war,  as  it  would  no  longer  have  been  necessary 
for  Roman  ships  to  sail  up  the  river.  In  147  B.C.  the  Cartha- 
ginian hostages  were  detained6  in  the  Navalia. 

A  porta  Navalis,  mentioned  by  Festus,7  has  been  thought  by 
some  to  be  the  gate  into  the  inclosure,  but  without  good  reason. 
In  179  B.C.  the  censor  Fulvius  built  a  portions  extra  portam 
Trigeminam  et  aliam  post  navalia  et  ad  fanum  Herculis,8  and  on 
fragment  61  of  the  Marble  Plan  is  the  inscription  NAVALEM- 
FER.  .  .  .  This  evidence,  together  with  the  passage  in  Proco- 
pius already  cited,  and  a  bronze  of  Antoninus  Pius,9  have  been 
used  in  an  attempt10  to  prove  the  existence  of  other  earlier 
docks,  Navale  inferius,  just  north  of  the  porta  Trigemina,  and, 
while  this  seems  probable,  no  general  agreement  has  been 
reached. 

1  Liv.  viii.  14.  6Serv.  ad  Aen.  xi.  326. 

2  Liv.  xlv.  42.  6  Polyb.  xxxvi.  3. 

8Cic.  de  Or.  i.  62.  * Epit.  179;  Jordan,  I.  3.  486. 

*Bell.  Goth.  iv.  22.  8  Liv.  xl.  51. 

•Cohen,  MM.  Imp.  ii.  271,  No.  17. 

10  Hiilsen,  Dissertazioni  dell'  Accademia  Pontificia,  ser.  ii.  vol.  vi.  ;  Zeitschr. 
f.  Numismatik,  1899,  32;  Jordan,  I.  3.  143-145;  Merlin,  L'Aventin,  121-123. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

AQUEDUCTS  AND   SEWERS. 

Rome's  Water  Supply.  —  Before  the  building  of  the  first 
aqueduct  in  312  B.C.,  the  Romans  depended  for  their  water 
supply  upon  the  Tiber  and  upon  wells,  springs,  and  rain  water 
caught  and  stored  in  cisterns.1  The  soil  was  so  rich  in  springs 
and  underground  streams  that  wells  could  be  sunk  successfully 
at  any  point,  and  the  average  depth  necessary  was  only  about 
5  metres.2  Such  wells  (putei)  were  common  from  the  earliest 
period,  and  the  recent  excavations  in  the  Forum  (p.  273)  have 
brought  to  light  upward  of  thirty,  some  of  which  date  from 
the  republic.  It  is  therefore  improbable  that  the  water  of  the 
Tiber  itself  was  ever  used  very  extensively  for  drinking  pur- 
poses, although  certain  of  the  popes  of  the  sixteenth  century 
have  left  a  record  of  their  preference  for  this  substantial 
beverage.3  The  word  fons  was  employed  by  the  Romans  to 
denote,  not  only  natural  springs,  but  also  artificial  fountains. 
The  Notitia  states  that  in  the  fourth  century  there  were  in  the 
city  twelve  hundred  and  twelve  public  fountains,  of  which  the 
great  majority  must  have  been  of  the  artificial  kind.  These 
fountains  were  ordinarily  in  the  form  of  basins  (lacus),  large 
and  small,  or  of  spouting  jets  (salientes). 

The  most  famous  natural  springs  were  the  following :  fons 
Oamenarum,4  the  spring  of  the  Muses,  which,  together  with  a 
sacred  grove  and  shrine,  was  in  the  vallis  Egeriae  (p.  432) 


1  Frontinus,  de  Aq.  i.  4.        2  Lanciani,  Acque,  6.        8  Lanciani,  Acque,  3-4. 
4  Vitr.  viii.  3.  1;    Front,  de  Aq,  i.  4;  Lanciani,  Acque,  11-13;   Herschel, 
Frontinus,  131-132;  Jordan,  I.  3.  206-208. 

90 


AQUEDUCTS  AND   SEWEKS.  91 

outside  the  porta  Capena,  northeast  of  the  via  Appia.  This 
valley  is  marked  by  the  via  della  Mola  and  the  brook  Marrana, 
and  the  fountain  itself  is  usually  identified  with  a  spring  near 
the  villa  Fonseca.  Considerable  changes  have  taken  place  in 
this  region,  and  there  are  several  springs  near  by,  so  that  a 
positive  identification  seems  rather  hazardous.  Tons  Apollinis,1 
the  position  of  which  is  unknown,  but  which  has  been  identified 
with  a  spring  now  flowing  in  the  villa  Mattei  on  the  Caelian, 
not  far  from  the  fons  Camenarum,  and  also  with  one  near  the 
west  end  of  the  Circus  Maximus.  Fons  luturnae,  perhaps  the 
most  celebrated  of  all  Roman  springs,  which  was  discovered  in 
the  year  1900  just  behind  the  temple  of  Castor.  Its  site  and 
the  ruins  of  the  lacus  are  described  on  page  214.  Aqua  Mercurii,2 
a  spring  which  is  thought  to  be  one  of  those  now  flowing  in 
the  gardens  of  the  villa  Mattei.  Its  waters  were  conducted  in 
an  artificial  channel  through  the  valley  of  the  Circus  Maximus 
to  the  Cloaca  Maxima. 

•Among  the  other  springs  mentioned  in  literature,  which 
seem  to  have  had  a  special  claim  to  celebrity,  are  the  Lautolae 
(p.  192)  or  hot  springs  ad  lanum  geminum,  still  a  puzzle  to 
topographers,  and  the  fons  Lupercalis,3  the  earliest  of  all, 
which  gushed  forth  from  the  Lupercal  (p.  130)  on  the  slope 
of  the  Cermalus.  The  porta  Fontinalis  in  the  Servian  wall 
was  named  from  a  spring  which  may  be  that  now  visible  in 
the  cortile  di  S.  Felice  in  the  via  della  Dateria,  sometimes 
called  the  aqua  Fontinalis.4  Beneath  the  Career  on  the  slope 
of  the  Capitoline  is  a  spring,  which  perhaps  supplied  the 
Arx  in  the  earliest  days  of  the  city,  and  from  which  the 
lower  part  of  the  Career,  the  Tullianum,  is  generally  supposed 
to  have  derived  its  name  (tuttius  =  ' a  spring'?).  This  deriva- 
tion has  lately  been  disputed  (p.  252). 

1  Front,  loc.  cit.  ;  Lanciani,  Acque,  13. 

2  Ov.  Fast.  v.  673,-  Lanciani,  Acque,  9-11.    Cf.  BC.  1904, 217-230. 

3  Lanciani,  Acque,  21. 

*  Cf.,  however,  p.  50,  note  2. 


92  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

Rain  water  was  caught  in  the  compluvia  of  the  houses,  but 
there  was  probably  less  necessity  for  its  use  in  Rome  than 
in  most  cities.  Many  large  cisterns  (piscinae)  have  been 
found  in  different  parts  of  the  city ;  but  it  is  usually  difficult 
to  tell  whether  they  were  intended  only  for  rain  water,  or 
were  reservoirs  fed  by  small  pipes  from  a  spring  or  aqueduct. 
A  series  of  underground  cisterns  has  been  found  on  the  Pin- 
cian,1  which  were  made  for  the  villa  of  the  Acilii  Glabriones 
and  consist  of  galleries  cut  in  the  tufa  rock  and  intersecting 
each  other  at  right  angles  (p.  482).  All  other  cisterns,  so  far 
discovered,  are  constructed  in  a  similar  manner. 

Aqueducts.  —  Springs  and  cisterns  must  have  proved  inade- 
quate to  supply  the  rapidly  growing  city,  for  in  312  B.C.  the 
first  of  that  long  series  of  aqueducts  was  constructed  which 
has  justly  been  regarded  as  among  the  most  remarkable  and 
distinctive  features  of  ancient  Rome.2  Our  knowledge  of 
their  history  and  general  administration  is  chiefly  due  to  the 
fortunate  preservation  of  a  treatise  on  the  subject,  the  De 
Aquis  Urbis  Romae,  by  Sextus  Julius  Frontinus,  who  was 
appointed  curator  aquarum  in  97  A.D.  and  signalized  his  tenure 
of  office  by  a  complete  reform  of  the  system.  This  work  of 
Frontinus  is  amply  illustrated  by  the  many  remains  of  arches, 
channels  (specus),  distributing  reservoirs  (castella  aquae),  and 
pipes  of  all  sizes,  which  have  been  preserved. 

The  first  of  these  aqueducts,  the  Appia,3  was  built  in  312  B.C. 
by  the  censors  Appius  Claudius  Caecus  and  C.  Plautius  Ve- 
nox.  It  was  fed  by  springs  situated  east  of  Rome,  780  passus 


1  Lanciani,  Acque,  29-30. 

2  The  most  authoritative  works  on  the  water  supply  and  aqueducts  of  Rome 
are:  Lanciani,  /  Commentarii  di  Frontino  intorno  le  Acque  e  gli  Acquedotti, 
Rome,  1880;  Herschel,  The   Two  Hooks  on  the    Water  Supply  of  the  City 
of  Rome  of  Sextus  Julius  Frontinus,  Boston,  1899;  and  Ashby,  The  Builder, 
1908,  37,  64,  89,  111,  142,  174,  203,  234 ;  JJ.  1909,  246-260. 

»  Front.  5,  7,  18,  22,  65,  79,  126;  Lanciani,  Acque,  34-43;  Herschel,  143-146. 


AQUEDUCTS   AND   SEWERS.  93 

(1153  metres)  to  the  left  of  the  via  Collatina,  between  the 
sixth  and  seventh  milestones,  near  the  Anio.1  The  channel 
(specus)  was  subterranean,  and  entered  the  city  more  than  15 
metres  below  the  surface,  near  the  temple  of  Spes  vetus,  ad 
Spem  veterem  (p.  462),  just  inside  the  porta  Praenestina  (Mag- 
giore).  Thence  it  ran  along  the  south  slope  of  the  Caelian, 
across  the  depression  on  the  Aventine,  to  a  point  approximately 
halfway  between  S.  Saba  and  S.  Prisca ;  then,  making  a  sharp 
turn  to  the  northwest,  it  crossed  the  Aventine  and  ended  at 
the  Salinae,  just  outside  the  porta  Trigemina.  The  total 
length  of  the  channel  was  11,190  passus  (16.47  kilometres), 
entirely  underground  except  for  a  distance  of  60  passus  (89 
metres),  where  it  was  carried  on  arches  across  the  via  Appia, 
outside  the  porta  Capena.  Remains  of  this  specus  have  been 
discovered  at  various  points  on  the  Aventine  along  the  via  di 
S.  Paolo,  especially  in  the  old  quai-ries  near  S.  Saba.  Augus- 
tus increased  the  amount  of  water  brought  to  the  city  by  this 
aqueduct  by  building  a  branch,  the  aqua  Appia  Augusta,  from 
some  springs  a  little  more  than  1  kilometre  north  of  the  sixth 
milestone  on  the  via  Praenestina.  This  joined  the  old  Appia 
ad  Spem  veterem.  The  specus  of  this  branch  was  entirely 
subterranean,  and  6360  passus  (9.18  kilometres)  in  length. 

The  Anio  vetus2  was  begun  in  272  B.C.  by  the  censor 
M'.  Curius  Dentatus,  and  finished  in  270  by  M.  Fulvius 
Flaccus,  who  with  Dentatus  had  been  created  duumvir 
aquis  perducendis.  The  original  cost  was  paid  out  of  spoils 
taken  from  Pyrrhus.  Its  source  was  the  river  Anio,  1  kilo- 
metre above  the  monastery  of  S.  Cosiinato  near  Mandela,  17 
kilometres  above  Tivoli.  Its  course  can  be  traced  from  the 
source  to  Gallicano,  but  from  there  to  Rome  it  is  uncertain. 
This  aqueduct  entered  the  city  ad  Spem  veterem,  at  about  the 
present  ground  level,  struck  the  Servian  wall  and  followed  it 

1  Cf.,  however,  BC.  1903,  243-248;  1904,  215-232. 

2  Front.  6,  7,  9,  18,  21,  92,  and  freq. ;  OIL.  vi.  1243,  2345;  Lanciani,  Acque, 
43-58;  Herscbel,  146-150. 


94  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

to  the  porta  Esquilina.  For  part  of  this  distance  it  was  built 
in  the  agger,  and  during  the  modern  building  operations  around 
the  railroad  station  it  was  often  exposed  to  view.  The  specus 
was  subterranean,  except  for  a  distance  of  221  passus  (327 
metres)  outside  the  porta  Praenestina,  where  it  was  carried 
above  ground.  Its  total  length  was  43,000  passus  (63.64 
kilometres).1  At  the  second  milestone  outside  the  city,  a 
branch,  built  by  Augustus  and  called  the  specus  Octavianus,  led 
off  from  the  Anio  vetus  and  ran  toward  the  via  Latina  and 
the  horti  Asiniani,  probably  near  the  porta  Metrovia. 

The  Marcia2  was  begun  in  144  B.C.  by  the  praetor  Q.  Marcius 
Rex,  who  had  been  ordered  by  the  senate  to  repair  the  two 
existing  aqueducts,  Appia  and  Anio,  and  to  build  a  third,  as 
the  supply  of  water  was  insufficient.  The  completion  of  the 
Marcia  required  five  years,  and  the  water  was  successfully 
brought  to  the  top  of  the  Capitoline  in  140  B.C. 

This  was  the  first  of  the  high-level  aqueducts,  its  source 
being  about  275  metres  above  Rome  in  the  Sabine  mountains. 
This  source  was  two  or  three  —  perhaps  those  known  as  the 
second  and  third  Serena  —  of  a  series  of  eight  springs  which 
extend  along  the  north  side  of  the  Anio,  between  Arsoli  and 
Agosta,  at  the  base  of  monte  della  Prugna  and  near  the  thirty- 
sixth  milestone  of  the  via  Valeria.  The  water  of  all  these 
springs  is  remarkably  clear  and  cold,  and  the  water  of  the 
aqua  Marcia  was  the  best  brought  into  Rome  in  antiquity.3 

The  course  of  the  Marcia  can  be  traced  from  its  source  to 
Gallicano,  as  it  winds  down  the  hills,  following  the  Anio  to 
Tivoli,  and  then  bending  to  the  south,  crossing  the  valleys  on 
bridges  and  passing  through  the  hills  in  tunnels.  This  part 
of  its  course  is  practically  the  same  as  that  of  the  Anio  vetus, 
the  Claudia  and  the  Anio  novus.  At  one  point  a  single  bridge, 

1  Cf.,  however,  CR.  1902,  336.  • 

2  OIL.  vi.  1244-1251;  PL  NH.  xxxvi.  121;  Front,  passim;  Lanciani,  Acque, 
58-81,  86-102;  Herschel,  150-162. 

8Vitr.  viii.  3.  1;  PI.  NH.  xxxi.  41. 


AQUEDUCTS   AND   SEWERS.  95 

the  ponte  Lupo,  carries  all  four.  From  Gallicano  the  Marcia 
ran  underground  to  the  sixth  milestone  on  the  via  Latina,  and 
thence  to  the  porta  Praenestina  on  arches  which  continued  to 
the  porta  Tiburtiua  (porta  S.  Lorenzo),  and  to  the  distributing 
station  on  the  Viminal. 

The  later  aqueducts,  Julia  and  Tepula,  ran  on  these  same 
arches  as  far  as  the  porta  Tiburtina,  above  the  specus  of  the 
Marcia,  and  the  stretch  between  this  gate  and  the  porta 
Praenestina  was  afterward  incorporated  into  the  Aurelian 
wall.  Where  these  arches  began  at  Roma  Vecchia,  their  ruins 
are  still  visible. 

Within  the  city  the  Marcia  was  carried  in  pipes  from  the 
Viminal  to  the  Capitoline,  and  above  ground  to  the  Caelian. 
During  the  reign  of  Nero,  a  branch  called  the  rivus  Herculaneus l 
was  built,  which  ran  underground  from  the  main  aqueduct,  a 
little  south  of  the  porta  Tiburtina,  across  the  Caelian  to  the 
porta  Capena.2  In  the  villa  Wolkonsky  some  remains  of  an 
aqueduct  have  been  found,  consisting  of  tufa  blocks  pierced 
with  a  circular  channel,  which  probably  belonged  to  this 
branch.3  This  was  extended  by  Trajan  to  the  Aventine.  In 
212  A.D.  Caracalla  built  another  branch,  the  aqua  Antoniniana,4 
nearly  7  kilometres  long,  from  a  point  near  the  porta  Furba 
(3  kilometres  from  the  porta  S.  Giovanni),  to  carry  water  to 
his  baths.  This  crossed  the  via  Appia  on  the  so-called  arch 
of  Drusus  (p.  434),  and  near  by  are  ruins  of  other  arches.  In 
284  A.D.  Diocletian  restored  the  Marcia;  and  afterward  the 
name  lovia5  was  applied  either  to  the  whole  aqueduct,  or  to 
the  branch  Antoniniana. 

Augustus  increased  the  volume  of  water  of  the  Marcia  by 
building  a  short  branch 6  from  its  head  to  another  spring  about 
1200  metres  farther  from  Eome.  This  additional  supply  was 

i  Front.  19.    Cf.  also  p.  101.  2Cf.  Juv.  Hi.  11. 

»  BC.  1886,  406;  1888,  400;  Mitt.  1889,  235. 
*Not.,  appendix,  1;  OIL.  vi.  1245;  Lanciani,  Acque,  103-106. 
6 Lanciani,  Acq ue,  106-107.  6  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  11. 


96  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

for  use  in  time  of  drought,  and  could  be  turned  into  the 
Claudia  instead  of  the  Marcia,  if  necessary.  The  total  length 
of  the  Marcia  was  91.3  kilometres.  Its  specus  was  under- 
ground from  its  source  to  the  point  where  it  emerged  at  Roma 
Vecchia,  except  at  a  few  places  where  it  was  carried  across 
valleys  on  arches. 

The  Tepula1  was  built  in  125  B.C.  by  the  censors  Cn.  Ser- 
vilius  Caepio  and  L.  Cassius  Longinus.  It  was  fed  by  volcanic 
springs  in  the  Alban  hills  between  Frascati  and  Rocca  di 
Papa,  2000  passus  (2960  metres)  west  of  the  tenth  milestone 
on  the  via  Latina.  These  springs  are  now  called  the  Sorgenti 
dell'  Acqua  Preziosa.  Their  temperature  is  about  63°  Fahren- 
heit, hence  the  name  Tepula.  Until  the  building  of  the  Julia, 
the  Tepula  flowed  in  its  own  channel,  but  its  course  is  wholly 
unknown. 

The  Julia2  was  built  in  33  B.C.  by  Marcus  Agrippa.  Its 
source  was  2000  passus  (2960  metres)  west  of  the  twelfth  mile- 
stone on  the  via  Latina,  3  kilometres  farther  up  the  Alban 
hills  toward  Rocca  di  Papa  than  that  of  the  Tepula.  The 
springs  are  now  called  II  Fontanile  degli  Squarciarelli  di 
Grotta  Ferrata.  About  16  kilometres  from  the  city,  Agrippa 
caused  the  waters  of  the  Tepula  and  Julia  to  unite  in  the  pro- 
portion of  one  to  three,  and  they  flowed  in  one  specus  for 
nearly  7  kilometres.  The  resultant  temperature  of  the  mix- 
ture was  about  53°.  At  the  sixth  milestone  this  aqueduct  was 
again  divided  into  two  channels,  —  one  having  three  times  the 
capacity  of  the  other,  —  and  so  brought  to  the  city.  The  point 
of  division  was  close  to  the  Marcia  where  it  emerged  from  its 
subterranean  specus,  and  all  three  aqueducts  were  conducted 
thence  to  the  city  on  the  same  arches.  The  line  may  easily  be 
traced,  for  the  piers  of  the  original  arches  now  serve  as  f ounda- 

1  Front.  8,9,  19,  68-69,  and  passim;  Lanciani,  Acque,  81-83,  86-98,  101-102; 
Herschel,  163-164. 

2  Front. 9,  18-19,  69,  76,  83,  and  passim;  Lanciani,  Acque,  83-98,  102-103  ; 
Herschel,  164-170. 


AQUEDUCTS  AND  SEWERS.  97 

tions  for  the  acqua  Felice,  which  was  constructed  in  the  six- 
teenth century.  The  length  of  the  channel  of  the  Tepula  is 
estimated  at  17.745  kilometres ;  that  of  the  Julia  is  stated  to 
have  been  15,426  passus  (22.83  kilometres). 

Prom  the  porta  Tiburtina,  the  Marcia  and  Tepula  were  car- 
ried to  the  main  distributing  station  on  the  site  of  the  present 
treasury  building,  with  a  branch  leading  off  to  another  station 
near  the  porta  Viminalis.  The  Julia  branched  off  near  the 
porta  Tiburtina  and  was  carried  to  the  Esquiline,  where  in 
the  piazza  Vittorio  Emanuele  can  still  be  seen  the  remains  of 
the  castellum  built  by  Alexander  Severus  (p.  463).  Some 
of  the  piers  of  this  branch  are  still  standing  in  the  piazza 
Guglielmo  Pepe,  and  the  foundations  of  others  have  been 
found  during  excavations  in  the  neighborhood.  Most  of  those 
now  standing  measure  2.90  by  2.95  metres  at  the  base. 

The  Virgo l  was  built  by  Agrippa  to  supply  his  baths  in  the 
campus  Martius,  and  was  finished  June  9,  19  B.C.  Its  source 
was  several  springs  near  the  eighth  milestone  on  the  via  Colla- 
tina,  and  near  the  present  railroad  station  of  Salone.  It  is  said 
that  the  name  Virgo  was  given  to  this  aqueduct  because  its 
source  was  pointed  out  to  the  soldiers  by  a  girl.  As  the  springs 
were  in  a  swampy  region,  their  waters  were  first  collected  in  a 
stone  basin,  part  of  which  is  still  in  existence.  The  course  of 
the  aqueduct  was  toward  the  porta  Praenestina,  like  so  many  of 
the  others;  but  about  1  kilometre  from  this  gate,  it  bent 
sharply  and  ran  north  for  some  distance,  entering  the  city 
under  the  villa  Medici  on  the  Pincian.  The  first  piscina  was 
just  east  of  the  piazza  di  Spagna.  Thence  it  was  conducted  to 
the  baths  of  Agrippa.  The  Virgo  was  restored  by  Claudius  in 
52  A.D.  and  is  now  in  use,  having  been  rebuilt  by  Pius  V  in 
1570.  At  various  points  in  the  city  portions  of  the  original 
structure  still  remain,2  as  in  the  garden  of  the  palazzo  Castel- 

1  Front.  10,  18,  22,  70,  and  passim  ;  PI.  NH.  xxxi.  42  ;  xxxvi.  121 ;  Dio  Cass. 
liv.  11  ;  OIL.  vi.  1252-1254;  Lanciani,  Acque,  120-130  ;  Herschel,  170-172. 

2  SO.  1881,  61-67;  1883,  6-7,  51-32;  Mitt.  1889,  269. 


98  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

lani,  at  No.  12  via  Nazareno  (p.  480),  and  in  the  court  of  the 
palazzo  Sciarra.  The  length  of  the  Virgo  was  14,105  passus 
(20.88  kilometres),  of  which  12,865  passus  (19  kilometres)  were 
underground.  Of  the  part  above  ground,  not  quite  half  was  on 
masonry  substructures,  and  700  passus  (1036  metres)  on  arches, 
for  the  most  part  within  the  city  limits. 

The  Alsietina,1  or  Augusta,  was  built  by  Augustus  about 
10  A.D.,  to  supply  his  naumachia  (p.  513)  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Tiber.  Its  source  was  the  lacus  Alsietinus,  the  modern 
lake  Martignano,  33  kilometres  from  Rome.  The  water  was 
worthless  for  drinking  purposes,  and  was  only  so  used  in 
time  of  drought.  No  remains  of  this  aqueduct  have  been 
found,  with  the  possible  exception  of  one  inscription.2  Its 
length  was  22,172  passus  (32.8  kilometres). 

The  Claudia3  was  begun  in  38  A.D.  by  Caligula,  and  finished 
in  52  by  Claudius.  This  was  the  most  magnificent  of  all 
Roman  aqueducts,  although  not  as  long  as  the  Anio  novus  or 
the  Marcia.  Its  sources  were  three  of  the  springs  in  the  valley 
of  the  Anio,  near  those  of  the  Marcia,  and  its  course  was  down 
this  valley  to  Tivoli,  and  round  monte  Bipoli  to  a  point  near 
Gallicano,  following  closely  the  line  of  the  Anio  vetus.  Thence 
it  skirted  the  hills  to  a  point  below  Frascati,  and  crossed  the 
Campagna  to  the  distributing  station  ad  Spem  veterem.  Domi- 
tian  shortened  the  course  by  cutting  a  tunnel,  5  kilometres  long, 
through  monte  Affliano.  From  the  springs  to  the  point  (Le 
Capannelle)  about  12  kilometres  from  Rome  where  the  specus 
finally  emerged,  the  channel  was  subterranean,  except  at  vari- 
ous points  in  the  mountains  where  it  was  carried  across  deep  val- 
leys on  arches.  Where  this  subterranean  specus  ended,  —  infra 
septimum  miliarium,  —  a  small  reservoir  was  erected,  and  from 
here  the  Claudia  ran  above  ground  for  1  kilometre  on  substruc- 

1  Front.  11,  18,  22,  71,  83;  Lanciani,  Acque,  130-132;  Herschel,  173-175. 

2  Mitt.  1889,  289. 

8  Front,  passim  ;  OIL.  vi.  1256-1259,  3866.  Cf .  Tac.  Ann.  xi.  13 ;  xiv.  22 ; 
Lanciani,  Acque,  133-137,144-162;  Herschel,  175-183. 


AQUEDUCTS   AND   SEWERS.  99 

tures,  and  for  about  10  kilometres  on  the  most  magnificent 
arches  to  be  found  near  Rome.  They  have  an  average  span  of 
5.5  metres  and  a  thickness  at  the  crown  of  nearly  1  metre. 
The  piers  are  about  2.4  metres  thick  in  elevation,  and  the 
height  of  the  whole  structure,  is  more  than  27  metres.  The 
original  construction  of  this  aqueduct  must  have  been  very 
faulty,  for  after  ten  years  it  fell  into  disuse  and  was  afterward 
restored  by  Vespasian,1  and  ten  years  later  by  Titus.  For  300 
metres  south  from  the  porta  Praenestina,  these  arches  were 
made  a  part  of  the  Aurelian  wall. 

From  the  castellum,  250  metres  northwest  of  the  porta 
Praenestina,  the  water  of  this  aqueduct  was  distributed  through- 
out the  city  in  pipes.  Nero  built  a  branch  specus  from  the 
angle  near  the  porta  Praenestina  to  the  great  buildings  of 
Claudius  on  the  Caelian.  This  branch  was  over  2  kilometres 
long,  and  was  carried  on  arches, — the  arcus  Oaelemontani  or 
Neroniani,2 — some  of  which,  as  afterward  restored,  are  among 
the  finest  specimens  of  brickwork  in  the  city.  These  arches 
have  a  span  of  7.75  metres,  and  the  piers  are  2.39  by  2.10 
metres  in  thickness  and  16  metres  high.  Domitian  carried 
the  water  of  the  Claudia  from  the  Caelian  to  the  Palatine 
by  means  of  a  lead  siphon  30  centimetres  in  diameter.  This 
Severus  replaced  by  a  line  of  arches  across  the  intervening 
valley,  43  metres  high  in  the  centre  and  430  metres  long, 
the  ruins  of  which  are  still  visible.  The  length  of  the  Clau- 
dia was  46,406  passus  (68.7  kilometres),3  of  which  53.6  kil- 
ometres were  underground.  Some  ruins  of  the  castellum  of 
the  Claudia  and  Anio  novus  have  been  found  near  the  three 
arches  of  the  railroad  tracks. 

The  Anio  novus  *  was  built  at  the  same  time  as  the  Claudia. 
Its  source  was  the  river  Anio  at  Subiaco,  near  the  forty- 

l  OIL.  vi.  1257-1258.  «  OIL.  vi.  1259  ;  Lanciani,  Acque,  152-162. 

8  Cf.,  however,  GIL.  vi.  1256  =  45,000  passus. 

4  Front,  passim;  PL  NH.  xxxvi.  122;  OIL.  vi.  1256;  ix.  4051;  Lanciani, 
Acque,  138-162;  Herschel,  183-184. 


AQUEDUCTS   AND   SEWERS. 


101 


second  milestone  on  the  via  Sublacensis,  but  this  water  was 
frequently  muddy  and  unfit  to  drink.  A  piscina  limaria,  or 
basin  in  which  the  mud  might  be  deposited,  was  therefore 
built  at  the  beginning  of  the  aqueduct ;  and  four  miles 
below  this  point,  a  small  auxiliary  stream,  the  rivus  Hercu- 
laneus  (cf.  p.  95),"  was  admitted  into  the  main  specus.  Tra- 
jan improved  the  quality  of  the  water  more  effectively  by 


FIG.  10. — THE  JUNCTION  OF  SEVEN  AQUEDUCTS  AT  THE  PORTA 
PRAENESTINA. 

drawing  it  from  one  of  the  three  lakes  above  Subiaco,  which 
Nero  had  constructed  by  building  a  dam  across  the  Anio, 
close  by  his  famous  villa. 

The  Anio  novus  paralleled  the  Claudia  throughout  its 
course  to  Le  Capannelle,  where  both  emerged  from  the 
ground.  From  here  the  Anio  novus  was  carried  on  the  Clau- 
dian  arches  above  the  specus  of  the  Claudia  to  the  castellum, 
where  the  water  of  the  two  was  mixed  before  being  dis- 
tributed. The  length  of  its  specus  was  58,700  passus  (86.8 


102  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

kilometres),  49,300  passus  (72.9  kilometres)  being  under- 
ground. 

The  Traiana1  was  built  by  Trajan  in  109  A:D.,  to  supply 
region  XIV,  trans  Tiberim,  with  drinking  water,  as  the 
Alsietina  was  unfit  for  that  purpose.  Its  sources  were  sev- 
eral springs  lying  to  the  north  and  west  of  the  lacus  Saba- 
tinus,  the  modern  lake  Bracciano,  in  the  district  between 
Oriolo  Bassano  and  the  lake.  The  water  was  collected  at 
a  point  near  Vicarello,  where  the  aqueduct  proper  began. 
Its  length  from  this  point  to  Rome  was  57.7  kilometres. 
The  specus  was  wholly  subterranean,  and  terminated  on  the 
Janiculum  in  a  castellum,  which  is  represented  on  coins 2  of 
Trajan.  During  the  later  empire  it  supplied  motive  power 
for  mills3  which  were  built  on  the  slope  of  the  hill.  This 
aqueduct  was  injured  in  537  A.D.  by  the  Gothic  general, 
Vitiges,  restored  by  Belisarius,  and  afterward  by  several  of 
the  popes.  In  1611  Paul  V  restored  it  again,  increased  its 
volume  by  admitting  the  water  of  lake  Bracciano  itself,  and 
built  the  famous  Fontana  Paolina  on  the  site  of  the  original 
castellum.  It  is  now  called  the  acqua  Paola. 

The  Alexandrina4  was  built  in  226  A.D.  by  Alexander  Severus 
to  supply  his  baths  in  the  campus  Martius.  The  springs 
which  fed  this  aqueduct,  and  which  partially  supply  the 
modern  acqua  Felice,  are  situated  east  of  monte  Falcone  on 
the  via  Praenestina,  between  Gabii  and  lake  Regillus,  and 
about  20  kilometres  from  Rome.  The  total  length  of  the 
channel  was  22  kilometres.  In  1585  Sixtus  V  built  the  acqua 
Felice  in  the  same  region  and  along  nearly  the  same  line. 
There  are  many  remains  of  the  original  Alexandrina  up  to  a 
point  3  kilometres  from  the  city,  but  from  there  its  course 
cannot  be  traced  accurately.  It  is  probable,  however,  that 
a  piscina,  the  ruins  of  which  have  been  found  in  what  was 

*  OIL.  vl.  1260;  Pol.  Silv.  545-546;  Lanciani,  Acque,  162-168. 
2  Cohen,  Trai.  20-25.  8  prOcop.  Bell.  Goth.  i.  19. 

*  Lamprid.  Vit.  Alex.  25;  Pol.  Silv.  545-546;  Lanciani,  Acque,  168-177. 


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104  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

formerly  the  vigna  Conti,  between  the  porta  Maggiore  and 
S.  Croce  in  Gerusalemme,  belonged  to  this  aqueduct.  According 
to  measurements  l  taken  in  the  seventeenth  century,  more  than 
a  third  (9.7  kilometres)  of  its  channel  was  above  ground.  Its 
ruins  are  to  be  seen  in  the  valley  of  the  acqua  Bollicante  on 
the  via  Praenestina. 

Of  the  other  aqueducts2  mentioned  in  the  Regionary  Cata- 
logue—  Annia,  Attica,  Herculea,  Caerulea,  Augustea,  Ciminia, 
Aurelia,  Damnata,  and  Severiana  —  nothing  certain  is  known, 
but  they  were  probably  branches,  mostly  outside  the  city,  or 
else  these  names  were  corruptions  of  earlier  forms,  as  Herculea 
for  rivus  He-rculaneus.  Two  others,  Dotraciana  and  Drusia,3 
are  mentioned  elsewhere,  and  two,  the  Pinciana4  and  Conclusa,3 
occur  in  inscriptions. 

The  estimates  which  are  usually  given  of  the  amount  of 
water  supplied  to  Rome  by  these  aqueducts  have  been  very 
greatly  exaggerated.6  They  are  based  upon  statements  of 
Frontinus,  but  these  involve  many  unknown  factors,  and  there 
is  no  way  of  determining  the  value  of  his  unit,  the  quinaria, 
with  anything  like  exactness. 

The  Sewers.  —  The  sewerage  system7  of  Rome  conformed  to 
the  natural  lines  of  drainage,  and  fell  therefore  into  three 
divisions.  The  northern  division  comprised  the  campus 
Martius,  the  Pincian,  and  the  north  and  west  slopes  of  the 
Quirinal  and  the  Capitoline.  The  principal  stream  of  this 
section,  the  Petronia  amnis  (p.  19),  and  other  less  important 
water  courses,  came  down  from  the  hills  and  emptied  into  the 

1  Lanciani,  Acque,  176. 

2  Jordan,  I.  1.  479-480;  II.  223-225;  Gilbert,  III.  277;  Richter,  Top*  381. 
a  Pol.  Silv.  545-546. 

4  OIL.  xv.  7259;  Lanciani,  Acque,  225  n.  5  BC.  1880,  55. 

6  Cf .  Herschel,  200-215;    and  Morgan,    Water  Supply  of  Ancient  Rome, 
Transactions  of  Am.  Phil.  Assoc.  1902,  30-37,  and  literature  there  cited. 

7  Narducci,  Sulla  Fognatura,  delta  Citta  di  Roma,  Rome,  1889;  Borsari, 
Topoyrafia  di  Roma  Antica,  90-96;  Jordan,  I.  1.  441^52;  Gilbert,  II.  410-415. 


AQUEDUCTS  AND   SEWERS.  105 

swamps  of  the  campus.  The  central  division  comprised  the 
south  and  east  slopes  of  the  Capitoline  and  Quirinal,  the  Vimi- 
nal,  the  north  and  west  slopes  of  the  Palatine,  the  Forum,  and 
the  Velabrum,  —  a  section  drained  by  the  brook  (p.  18)  which 
came  down  through  the  Subuva.  The  third  division  comprised 
the  southern  part  of  the  city,  drained  mainly  by  the  streams 
on  either  side  of  the  Caelian,  which  united  at  the  east  end  of 
the  vallis  Murcia,  In  each  of  these  divisions  there  was  prob- 
ably one  principal  collecting  sewer,  into  which  others  emptied. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  earliest  attempts  at  artificial 
drainage  date  from  the  regal  period.  The  first  part  of  the 
city  to  be  drained  was  the  Forum  valley,  and  later,  as  the  city 
grew  in  that  direction,  the  Subura  and  the  slopes  of  the  Quiri- 
nal, the  Viminal,  and  the  Esquiline.  The  system  was  devel- 
oped with  considerable  rapidity,  and  the  statement  made  by 
Livy,  that  after  the  invasion  of  the  Gauls  the  city  was  rebuilt 
so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  existing  sewers,  is  probably 
true.  After  the  censorship  of  Appius  Claudius  and  the  build- 
ing of  the  first  aqueduct,  renewed  activity  was  displayed  in 
the  construction  of  sewers,  and  almost  none  of  the  existing 
remains  are  of  earlier  date. 

The  rapid  growth  in  population  during  the  first  two  cen- 
turies of  the  empire,  the  construction  of  the  great  baths  and 
new  aqueducts,  together  with  the  countless  small  baths  and 
public  fountains,  and  such  enormous  buildings  as  the  Colosseum 
and  Circus  Maximus,  necessitated  a  corresponding  increase  in 
the  provision  for  drainage.  The  system  became  so  elaborate 
that  the  city  was  called  urbs  pensilis  subterque  navigata.1  Re- 
mains2 of  this  great  system  have  been  found  everywhere 
throughout  the  cit-y.  In  some  cases  the  old  channels  have 
been  worked  into  the  modern  sewers,  and  in  a  few  cases  the 
old  sewers  themselves  are  in  actual  use.  It  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion here  to  do  more  than  speak  briefly  of  the  matter. 

i  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  104.         «  Gilbert,  III.  291-292 ;  Narducci,  op.  cit.  passim. 


106  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

The  earliest  Roman  sewer  consisted  undoubtedly  of  a  natural 
watercourse,  the  channel  of  which  was  widened  and  deepened. 
Later  the  banks  were  walled  up  and  the  bed  of  the  stream 
paved,  and  then  the  channel  was  sometimes  covered.  At  a 
still  later  period,  many  sewers  were  built  which  did  not  follow 
a  stream.  The  dates  of  the  successive  steps  in  construction 
varied  in  the  case  of  different  sewers.  The  earliest  remains 
show  that  the  roof  was  not  vaulted,  but  consisted  of  flat  stones 
placed  on  walls  which  gradually  approached  each  other  as 
they  rose.  The  vaulted  roof  was  probably  not  used  before  the 
fourth  century  B.C.  Existing  remains  of  Roman  sewers  exhibit 
two  distinct  types  of  construction,  those  of  the  republican 
period  being  built  of  opus  quadratuin  of  tufa  or  peperino,  with 
or  without  a  vaulted  roof,  and  those  of  the  imperial  period 
being  built  of  concrete  lined  with  tiles,  and  with  a  gable  roof 
formed  of  large  tiles. 

Various  remains  of  republican  sewers  have  been  found  in  the 
campus  Martius,  all  of  which  appear  to  have  emptied  into  the 
main  collecting  sewer,1  which  has  been  discovered  between 
the  piazzetta  Mattei  and  the  Tiber.  This  is  a  distance  of 
about  450  metres,  and  the  course  of  the  sewer  is  a  little  west 
of  south.  The  construction  points  to  the  same  time  as  that  of 
the  circus  Flaminius,  where  this  sewer  is  formed  by  the  union 
of  smaller  branches.  It  is  highly  probable,  therefore,  that 
when  the  city  had  extended  to  this  point,  a  large  part  of 
the  drainage  from  the  district  to  the  north  and  east  which 
had  flowed  into  the  palus  Caprae  (p.  19)  and  thence  into  the 
Tiber  was  provided  for  by  the  construction  of  this  system  of 
sewers.  The  collecting  sewer  empties  into  the  river  opposite 
the  west  end  of  the  island,  but  its  mouth  was  destroyed  at  the 
beginning  of  the  last  century.  Beneath  the  piazzetta  Mattei 
it  is  built  of  peperino  with  a  vaulted  roof,  and  is  3.21  metres 
high,  1.40  in  width,  and  9.27  below  the  street  level.  Other 

i  Narducci,  op.  cit.  36-37. 


AQUEDUCTS  AND  SEWERS.  107 

remains  of  republican  sewers  have  been  found  in  the  Corso 
near  S.  Carlo  and  in  the  via  del  Seraiuario.  Remains  of  the 
sewers  built  by  Agrippa  and  restored  by  Hadrian  have  been 
discovered  round  the  Torre  Argentina  and  the  Pantheon, 
those  of  the  Antonines  in  the  piazza  di  Pietra,  and  some  of  a 
later  date  round  the  baths  of  Diocletian. 

The  main  sewer  of  the  south  section  of  the  city  began  in 
the  valley  of  the  Colosseum,  following  a  stream,  perhaps  the 
Nodinus,1  and,  passing  through  the  valley  between  the  Pala- 
tine and  the  Caelian,  united  with  the  Marrana  (p.  18).  This 
brook,  which  had  flowed  in  an  irregular  course  through  the 
Circus  Maximus,  was  converted  into  a  straight  sewer,  which 
turned  sharply  to  the  left  at  the  west  end  of  the  circus  and 
emptied  into  the  Tiber  about  50  metres  below  the  Cloaca 
Maxima.  Its  channel2  has  been  found  at  various  points, 
especially  at  the  west  end  of  the  circus  at  the  corner  of  the 
via  della  Salara  and  the  via  della  Greca,  in  the  piazza  and  via 
di  S.  Gregorio,  and  under  the  arch  of  Constantine.  In  the 
via  della  Greca  the  specus  of  the  sewer  is  10. 50  metres  below 
the  present  level.  It  is  built  of  tufa  and  vaulted,  is  3.40 
metres  in  height,  and  into  it  open  two  smaller  sewers,  one 
1.10  metres  and  the  other  0.86  metre  in  height,  dating  from 
the  third  century  B.C.  At  a  depth  of  2.89  metres  beneath 
the  modern  pavement  of  the  via  di  S.  Gregorio  is  the  pave- 
ment of  an  ancient  street  of  the  later  empire  (p.  322),  and  about 
5  metres  below  this  is  a  much  earlier  street.  Just  beneath  the 
pavement  of  this  lower  street  is  the  top  of  the  channel  of  this 
sewer,  which  near  the  arch  of  Constantine  is  1.80  metres  high 
and  1.40  wide,  with  a  vaulted  tufa  roof  (Fig.  67). 

The  Cloaca  Maxima.  —  According  to  tradition,3  this  sewer 
was  constructed  by  Tarquinius  Superbus  to  drain  the  Forum. 
Beginning  in  the  Argiletum,  where  it  collected  the  waters  of 

1  Cic.  de  Nat.  Deor.  iii.  52. 

2  Narducci,  op.  cit.  61-63;  BC.  1892,  279-282. 
*  Liv.  i.  38,  56 ;  Dionys.  iii.  67. 


108 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


the  Esquiline,  the  Viminal,  and  the 
Quirinal,  it  flowed  through  the  Forum 
and  the  Velabrum  to  the  Tiber.  The 
upper  part  was  the  line  of  a  natural 
watercourse,  probably  the  Spinon,  and 
it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  first 
regulation  of  its  flow,  and  perhaps 
the  protection  of  its  banks  by  walls, 
dated  from  the  regal  period.  Of  the 
existing  sewer,  however,  the  oldest 
part  is  not  earlier  than  the  third  cen- 
tury B.C.,  while  some  of  it  consists  of 
restorations  of  imperial  times.  Its 
earlier  form,  therefore,  is  only  a  mat- 
ter of  conjecture. 

The  Cloaca  Maxima J  proper  ap- 
pears to  have  begun  at  a  point  near 
the  northwest  corner  of  the  forum  of 
Augustus,  in  the  via  di  Torre  dei 
Conti.  Its  extreme  crookedness  is 
explained  principally  by  the  fact  that 
it  represents  the  natural  course  of  the 
stream  ;  but  at  some  points,  its  line 
seems  to  have  been  changed  during 
the  empire,  on  account  of  the  erection 
of  buildings.  This  apparent  condi- 
tion is  sometimes  very  perplexing. 
For  instance,  the  bend  in  the  cloaca 
in  the  via  della  Croce  Bianca  seems 
to  have  been  necessitated  by  the  erec- 
tion of  the  temple  of  Minerva  (p.  283), 
not  earlier  than  90  A.D.,  and  yet  this 

1  Narducci,  op.  cit.  39-49;  Antike  Denk- 
maler,  i.  25-28,  pi.  37;  BC.  1890,  95-102;  Mitt. 
1891,  86-88. 


AQUEDUCTS  AND   SEWERS.  109 

portion  of  the  work  seems  to  be  earlier  than  the  part  nearer 
the  Forum.  This  whole  section,  from  the  beginning  to  the 
Forum,  is  about  200  metres  long,  and  exhibits  two  forms 
of  construction.  From  the  beginning  to  the  via  Alessandrina, 
it  is  built  entirely  of  blocks  of  peperino,  laid  without  mor- 
tar, vaulted,  and  paved  with  pentagonal  blocks  of  lava,  —  the 
characteristic  style  of  the  republican  cloaca.  Between  the  via 
Alessandrina  and  the  Forum,  the  side  walls  of  the  sewer  are 
of  peperino,  but  the  roof  is  of  brick-faced  concrete.  The  specus 
is  here  4.20  metres  high  and  3.20  wide.  Eight  smaller  sewers 
empty  into  this  section  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima,  and  near  its 
beginning  the  main  sewer  from  the  Quirinal  flowed  into  it 
from  the  north. 

Between  the  Forum1  and  the  river,  the  best  view  of  the 
sewer  can  be  had  near  the  church  of  S.  Giorgio  in  Velabro. 
The  larger  part  of  this  section  belongs  to  the  republican 
period,  with  restorations  of  later  times.  The  mouth  of  the 
sewer,  4.50  metres  wide  and  3.30  high,  is  close  to  the  round 
temple  (p.  401)  in  the  forum  Boarium. 

1  For  a  description  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima  within  the  limits  of  the  Forum, 
see  p.  271. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

"WALLS,   GATES,   AND   ROADS. 

The  Walls  of  the  Palatine.  —  Current  views  in  regard  to  the 
early  fortifications  of  Rome  have  been  considerably  modified 
in  recent  years,  and  of  the  existing  remains  of  walls  only  a 
very  small  part,  if  any,  can  be  assigned  to  the  regal  period. 
Probably  the  oldest  fragment  now  visible  on  the  Palatine  is  at 
the  southwest  corner  of  the  hill  (Jc,  Fig.  17)  where  two  small 
sections  of  opus  quadratum,  one  of  seven  courses  and  one  of 
four,  are  in  situ.  The  stone  is  a  gray-green  tufa,  known  as 
cappellaccio,  and  the  blocks  vary  in  size  somewhat,  those  in 
one  section  measuring  0.60-0.77  metre  in  length,  0.25-0.27  in 
height,  and  0.25-0.40  in  depth,  while  those  in  the  other  sec- 
tion measure  only  0.35  metre  in  length,  and  0.30  in  height. 
The  finish  is  not  perfect,  and  no  mortar  or  cement  is  employed. 
Two  courses  of  stretchers  appear  to  alternate  with  one  of 
headers.  This  wall  has  been  assigned  by  some  *  to  the  pre- 
Servian  period ;  by  others 2  to  the  end  of  the  regal  period,  as  it 
corresponds  so  closely  to  the  masonry  in  the  foundations  of 
the  temple  of  Jupiter  on  the  Capitoline  (p.  297)  that  were  un- 
doubtedly laid  by  the  last  Tarquin ;  and  by  still  others 3  to  a 
somewhat  later  date  in  the  fifth  century  B.C.  In  any  case  it 
seems  most  reasonable  to  suppose  that  this  was,  if  not  the 
original,  at  least  a  restoration  of  the  original  Palatine  wall, 
after  this  had  passed  the  earliest  stage  of  a  mere  tampart  of 
earth.  The  method  of  construction  employed  in  this,  as  well 

i  Jordan,  I.  3.  37. 

a  Delbruck,  Der  Apollotempel  aufdem  Marsfeld,  Rome,  1903,  13-14. 

»  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  xv.  787-788. 

110 


WALLS,    GATES,   AND  ROADS.  Ill 

as  in  the  later  walls,  is  that  ordinarily  found  in  central  Italy 
at  the  same  period.  At  about  two-thirds  of  the  distance  from 
base  to  summit,  an  artificial  shelf  was  cut  into  the  slope,  and 
the  cliff  above  scarped  off.  On  this  ledge,  and  backing  against 
the  cliff,  the  wall  was  erected,  usually  projecting  high  enough 
above  the  summit  to  form  a  breastwork.  Where  the  cliff  was 
quite  vertical,  nothing  more  than  a  breastwork  was  needed. 

Outside  of  this  earlier  wall,  at  a  distance  of  0.75  metre,  and 
covering  it  completely,  was  a  later  wall,  of  which  some  re- 
mains exist  at  various  points  on  the  south  and  west  sides  of 
the  hill.  The  material  of  this  wall  is  a  friable  brown  tufa, 
quarried  on  the  spot,  and  cut  into  blocks  about  two  Roman 
feet  in  height  and  width  (0.59-0.60  metre),  and  from  1  to  1.5 
metres  in  length.  On  these  blocks  are  masons'  marks,  and 
the  workmanship  is  much  more  careful  than  in  the  earlier  wall. 
When  the  slopes  of  the  Palatine  were  built  over  in  later  times 
with  the  enormous  substructures  of  the  imperial  palace  above, 
and  with  rows  of  barracks  and  storerooms,  the  wall  itself  was 
either  destroyed  or  covered  up.  It  was  evidently  built  to  re- 
place the  earlier  wall  when  stronger  fortifications  were  needed. 
Its  structure  corresponds  very  closely  to  that  of  the  later  Ser- 
vian wall  (see  below),  and  it  seems  to  belong  to  the  same  gen- 
eral period,  either  that  immediately  following  the  Gallic 
invasion,  or  a  somewhat  earlier  date  in  the  fifth  century.  The 
latter  is  the  more  probable,  for  after  390  B.C.,  when  the  magnifi- 
cent structure  of  the  city  wall  was  in  process  of  being  com- 
pleted, it  is  difficult  to  understand  why  the  Palatine  should 
have  been  so  strongly  fortified. 

Gates.  —  As  Etruscan  ritual  required  (p.  37),  three  gates 
gave  access  to  the  Palatine  city,  the  porta  Mugonia  or  Cattle- 
gate,  which  stood  near  the  arch  of  Titus,  but  of  which  it  is  im- 
possible to  indicate  the  exact  site ;  the  porta  Komanula  (pp.  37, 
38)  on  the  west  side  of  the  hill,  probably  where  the  clivus 
Victoriae  began  its  ascent  to  the  Nova  via ;  and  a  third,  un- 


112  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

known  by  name,  which  was  probably  on  the  southern  side, 
in  connection  with  the  approach  to  the  hill  by  the  scalae  Caci. 
These  gates  undoubtedly  maintained  their  original  position  as 
long  as  the  walls  themselves,  but  all  traces  of  them  have  been 
completely  obliterated. 

The  Wall  of  Servius.1  —  During'  the  last  sixty  years,  con- 
siderable portions  of  this  great  fortification  have  been  dis- 
covered, and  then  destroyed.  Especially  was  this  the  case 
during  the  vast  improvements  carried  on  in  the  eastern  quar- 
ter of  the  city,  when  almost  the  whole  line  of  the  agger  was 
uncovered.  Of  the  wall  of  this  agger,  the  largest  portions 
still  standing  are  in  the  yard  of  the  freight  station  and  in  the 
piazza  Fanti.  Of  the  rest  of  the  wall,  the  most  extensive 
remains  are  on  the  Aventine. 

In  different  parts  of  the  city  different  methods  of  construc- 
tion were  followed,  which  depended  largely  upon  the  nature  of 
the  ground  traversed.  Where  the  wall  followed  the  slopes  of 
the  hills,  —  as  it  did  for  most  of  the  distance  except  between 
the  porta  Collina  and  the  porta  Esquilina  and  along  the  bank 
of  the  Tiber,  —  the  method  was  similar  to  that  of  the  Palatine 
wall  just  described.  On  a  ledge  cut  in  the  slope,  and  against 
the  scarped  side  of  the  hill,  are  laid  blocks  of  brown  tufa  in 
alternate  courses  of  headers  and  stretchers,  a  method  known  to 
the  Romans  as  emplecton,  without  mortar.  The  edges  of  the 
stone  are  carefully  worked,  and  the  blocks  are  very  regular, 
measuring  about  1.50  metres  in  length,  by  0.62  in  width,  and 
from  0.55  to  0.59  in  height.  The  thickness  of  the  wall  varies 
from  2  to  3.5  metres.  This  is  illustrated  (Fig.  12)  in  the  ruins 2 
in  the  via  di  porta  S.  Paolo  on  the  Aventine,  where,  however, 
the  existing  arch  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  original  wall. 
This  same  kind  of  masonry  is  also  employed  in  the  outer  wall 


1  See  p.  45,  Note  2. 

2  Ann.  d.  1st.  1871,  81  ff. ;  Mon.  d.  1st.  1871, 11  j  Merlin,  L'Aventin,  116, 130. 


WALLS,    GATES,    AND   ROADS.  113 

of  the  agger,  and  is  the  most  characteristic  of  the  whole  forti- 
fication in  its  final  shape. 

A  second  kind  of  masonry,  which  has  been  found  at  various 


FIG.  12. —  THE  WALL  OF  SERVIUS,  WITH  LATE  ADDITIONS. 

points  along  the  northwest  slope  of  the  Quirinal,  is  illustrated 
by  a  section  (Fig.  13)  excavated  in  1909  at  the  head  of  the  via 
delle  Finanze.1  This  section  is  35  metres  long,  and  of  varying 

1  NS.  1907,  504-510;  1908,  348,  382;  1909,  221-222;  EC.  1909,  119-121. 


114 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 


height,  from  nine  to  seventeen  courses  being  preserved.  The 
wall  is  built  in  a  somewhat  irregular  emplecton,  of  blocks  of 
gray-green  tufa,  0.55-0.60  metre  wide,  0.20-0.27  high,  and 


FIG.  13. — THE  WALL  OF  SERVIUS. 

0.80-0.90  long.  It  stands  on  the  native  rock,  and  the  lower 
courses,  which  were  covered  up,  are  roiighly  bossed,  while  those 
above  are  carefully  finished.  The  upper  courses  are  also  laid 
with  a  slight  batter.  Against  the  back  of  this  wall  was  an 
embankment,  and  perhaps  an  inner  retaining  wall. 

Where  there  was  an  embankment  of  any  sort  behind  the 
outer  wall,  the  style  of  fortification  approximated  slightly  to 
that  employed  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  city,  between  the 
porta  Collina  and  the  porta  Esquilina,  where  the  line  of  the 
wall  crossed  the  plateau.  This  was  a  combination  of  trench, 
embankment,  and  wall,  and  was  called  an  agger.  A  very  large 
part  of  this  agger  was  discovered l  in  the  years  1876-1879,  and 

l  BC.  1874,  199-202;  1876,  129-133,  171-172. 


WALLS,   GATES,   AND  ROADS.  115 

destroyed  during  the  building  of  the  railroad  station  and 
the  laying  out  of  the  new  quarters  on  the  Esquiline  and  Virai- 
nal.  The  description  of  Dionysius *  was  borne  out  by  these 
excavations.  A  trench  was  dug,  30  Roman  feet  deep  and 
100  wide,  and  the  earth,  thrown  up  on  the  inside,  formed 
an  embankment  of  corresponding  magnitude,  the  agger  proper. 
A  supporting  wall  of  opus  quadratum  was  then  built  from 
the  bottom  of  the  trench  to  the  top  of  this  agger,  and  a 
second  but  lower  wall  on  the  inside.  A  paved  road  ran  round 
the  city,  just  within  this  inner  wall,  and  also  one  on  the  outer 
edge  of  the  trench.  The  average  thickness  of  the  main  wall 
was  about  3.7  metres,  that  of  the  wall  and  the  agger  together 
upwards  of  15  metres,  and  the  total  length  about  1300  metres. 
The  best  preserved  remains  of  the  walls  of  this  agger  are  in 
the  freight  yard  of  the  railroad  station,  although  all  traces  of 
the  agger  itself  have  disappeared.  The  quter  wall  is  the  char- 
acteristic opus  quadratum  of  brown  tufa.2  Fifteen  metres  be- 
hind it  are  the  remains  of  the  inner  retaining  wall,  consisting 
of  ten  courses  of  gray-green  tufa,  cut  in  blocks  measuring 
0.27-0.30  by  0.60  by  0.75-0.90  metre  when  laid  in  stretchers, 
and  somewhat  less  in  length  when  laid  as  headers.  This  inner 
wall  is  very  similar  to  that  used  as  an  outer  wall  in  the  section 
on  the  Quirinal  just  described.  Neither  the  inner  nor  outer 
walls  were  integral  parts  of  the  original  agger. 

What  method,  if  any,  the  Romans  adopted  in  early  times  to 
protect  the  bank  of  the  river  between  the  ends  of  the  Servian 
wall,  we  do  not  know.  Many  fragments  have  been  found  of 
an  embankment  of  peperino,  about  8  metres  in  height,  divided 
into  two  parts  by  a  landing-step  about  3  metres  wide  and  3 
metres  above  low-water  mark.  This  embankment  may  have 
replaced  an  earlier  parapet  of  some  sort. 

Servius  Tullius  is  credited  by  tradition  with  having  sur- 
rounded Rome  with  a  wall,  and  this  system  of  fortification  has 

1  ix.  68.  2  Delbriick,  Der  Apollotempel  auf  dem  Marsfeld,  14-16. 


116  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

always  been  called  by  his  name,  but  in  the  course  of  recent  in- 
vestigation it  has  become  clear  that,  in  its  final  shape  at  least, 
it  is  much  later  than  the  regal  period.1  In  regard  to  the  rela- 
tive age  of  the  different  parts  of  the  wall,  it  is  generally  agreed 
that  the  characteristic  opus  quadratum  of  brown  tufa  is  later 
than  that  of  smaller  blocks  of  gray  tufa,  which  in  its  turn  is 
probably  later  than  the  agger  proper. 

In  regard  to  the  question  of  absolute  age,  there  is  also  a  gen- 
eral agreement  that  the  masonry  of  brown  tufa,  as  it  is  laid  up 
in  the  existing  remains,  is  not  older  than  the  fourth  century 
B.C.  This  conclusion  is  based  principally  on  the  character 
of  the  workmanship,  the  presence  of  masons'  marks,  and  the 
date  of  similar  construction  in  Rome  and  other  Latin  towns. 
Attempts  have  also  been  made 2  to  draw  evidence  for  the  date 
of  the  work  from  the  height  of  the  blocks,  some  of  which 
measure  0.59  metre  or  2  Roman  feet  on  the  scale  of  the  Attic- 
Roman  foot  (0.296  metre),  and  others  0.55-56  metre  or  2  feet 
on  the  scale  of  the  earlier  Italic  foot  (0.278  metre),  but  these 
attempts  cannot  be  regarded  as  conclusive  in  either  direction. 

So  far  as  there  is  any  evidence,  the  gray  tufa  wall  might  be 
dated  anywhere  in  the  fifth  century  B.C.  or  in  the  early  part 
of  the  fourth,  and  there  is  no  valid  reason  why  the  agger  itself 
should  not  be  as  early  as  the  sixth.  Those  who  believe  in  the 
reality  of  a  Servian  city  (p.  45)  with  some  kind  of  a  wall,  as- 
sume that  this  original  fortification  was  rebuilt  from  time  to 
time,  and  that  some  of  the  existing  gray  tufa,  and  perhaps  the 
brown  also,  belonged  to  the  fifth  century  work,  but  that,  as  a 
result  of  the  Gallic  invasion,  the  whole  structure  was  enor- 
mously enlarged  and  strengthened,  the  original  line  being  for 
the  most  part  preserved.  To  this  reconstruction  the  later  ma- 


*  Richter,  Ueber  antike  Steinmetzzeichen,  39-42;  B  RT.  1. 15-17 ;  Top*  43; 
Delbriick,  loc.  cit. ;  Pinza,  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  xv.  746-754. 

2  Richter,  BRT.  1. 15-17 ;  Berl.  Phil.  Wochenschrift,  1908, 1421-1422 ;  Arch. 
Am.  1908,  442-443.  Cf.  Hermes,  1886,  411-423;  1887,  17-27,  79-85;  Richter, 
Top  .2  43. 


WALLS,   GATES,   AND   ROADS.  117 

sonry  belongs,  and  to  it  such  passages  in  literature  as  that  in 
Livy 1  in  regard  to  the  work  of  379  B.C.  refer. 

On  the  other  hand,  those  who  believe  that  there  was  no  per- 
manent wall  round  the  whole  city  before  the  Gallic  invasion, 
assign  the  construction  of  the  whole  so-called  Servian  wall  to 
the  fourth  century  B.C.  and  to  the  early  part  of  the  third,  and 
date  even  the  agger  and  earliest  tufa  to  the  beginning  of  that 
period.  As  stated  already  (p.  45)  the  first  seems  the  more 
reasonable  view. 

Gates.  —  Under  the  palazzo  Antonelli  in  the  via  Nazionale  is  a 
gate,2  consisting  of  a  single  archway,  1.9  metres  wide,  which 
may  have  been  a  sort  of  postern  in  the  so-called  Servian  wall, 
and  just  where  this  wall  crossed  the  via  Appia,  the  recent 
construction  of  the  Zona  Monumentale  has  again  brought  to 
light  remains  of  opus  quadratum  which  are  quite  probably 
part  of  the  famous  porta  Oapena.  No  traces  of  any  other  gates 
have  been  found. 

The  Wall  of  Aurelian.  —  This  wall,3  after  having  been  largely 
rebuilt  by  Honorius  and  having  been  restored  many  times  dur- 
ing the  intervening  centuries,  is  still  the  wall  of  the  modern 
city,  although  at  present  little  attempt  is  made  to  keep  it  in 
repair.  It  was  built  on  a  strip  of  land  19  metres  wide,  and 
was  so  placed  that  the  part  inside  was  5  metres  wide,  and  that 
outside  10,  thus  providing  space  for  two  roads  round  a  large 
part  of  the  circumference  of  the  city.  Aurelian  incorporated 
into  this  line  of  fortification  certain  structures  already  exist- 
ing, like  the  supporting  wall  of  the  horti  Aciliorum  round  the 
Pincian,  the  castra  Praetoria,  the  arches  of  the  Julia,  Marcia, 
Tepula,  Claudia,  and  Anio  novus  aqueducts,  and  the  amphi- 

*  vi.  31. 1. 

2  BC.  1876,  35-36,  123-124;  1887,  52-56;  RhM.  1894,  411. 

8  BC.  1892,  87-111.  For  a  study  of  the  stamped  bricks  nsed  in  this  wall, 
see  Supplementary  Papers  of  the  American  School  of  Classical  Studies  in 
Rome,  i.  1-86. 


118 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


theatrum  Castrense,  and  was  thereby  spared  the  labor  and  ex- 
pense of  constructing  anew  about  one-sixth  of  the  entire  circuit. 
These  existing  structures  were  rendered  serviceable 1  by  the 
addition  of  battlements,  loopholes,  and  similar  members,  while 
the  new  wall  itself  was  of  two  sorts,  the  quay  wall  and  the 


FIG.  14. —  THE  WALL  OF  AURELIAN,  NEAR  THE  SESSORIUM. 

wall  with  an  inner  gallery.  Of  the  original  quay  wall  noth- 
ing remains ;  but  Procopius  says  that  it  was  low  and  difficult 
to  defend. 

All  the  new  wall  on  the  east  side  of  the  Tiber  was  built  of 

l  EC.  1886,  341;  1892,  104-105. 


WALLS,   GATES,   AND   ROADS. 


119 


brick-faced  concrete,  3.50  to  4  metres  in  thickness.  The  height 
varied  from  8  to  nearly  16  metres,  according  to  the  configura- 
tion of  the  ground.  Where  the  wall  was  built  on  a  slope,  the 
height  outside  was  often  much  greater  than  that  inside.  At  a 
height  of  from  2.5  to  3  metres  above  ground,  inside,  a  gallery 


Fia.  15.  —  THE  WALL  OF  AURELIAN,  NEAR  THE  PORTA  PINCIANA. 

or  passage  for  the  soldiers  ran  through  the  entire  length  of  the 
wall,  which  opened  inward  by  a  series  of  high  arches,  six  be- 
tween each  pair  of  towers.  The  thick  curtain  wall  between 
this  passage  and  the  outside  was  pierced  with  narrow  slits 
through  which  missiles  could  be  thrown.  The  top  of  the  wall 
was  protected  by  battlements,  propugnacula,  of  which  nothing 


120  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

remains.  At  intervals  of  about  29  to  30  metres  square  towers 
were  built,  which  projected  about  4  metres  from  the  outer  face 
of  the  wall  and  rose  to  a  considerable  height  above  the  battle- 
ments. In  these  towers  were  rooms,  3.20  metres  in  breadth, 
the  lowest  of  which  was  usually  on  the  same  level  as  the  gal- 
lery, of  which  it  formed,  iu  each  case,  a  part.  The  outer  walls 
of  these  rooms  were  pierced  by  loopholes.  The  upper  rooms, 
on  the  level  of  the  top  of  the  wall,  contained  five  embrasures, 
three  in  front  and  one  on  each  side,  thus  commanding  the  wall 
between  each  tower  and  the  next. 

A  survey  of  this  wall,  the  so-called  Descriptio  Murorum 
(p.  8),  made  in  403  A.D.  after  the  restoration  by  Honorius,  gives 
the  number  of  these  towers  as  three  hundred  and  eighty -one,  of 
which  only  one,  the  sixth  to  the  left  of  the  porta  Salaria,  is 
still  wholly  intact.  The  massive  Bastione  del  Sangallo,  a  short 
distance  west  of  the  porta  S.  Sebastian o,  was  built  about  the 
middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  400  metres  of  the  Au- 
relian  wall  were  removed  to  make  room  for  it. 

Gates.  —  The  gates 1  in  the  Aurelian  wall,  beginning  at  the 
north,  were  the  Flaminia,  Pinciana,  Salaria,  Nomentana,  an 
unnamed  gate  just  south  of  the  castra  Praetoria,  the  Tiburtina, 
Praenestina,  Asinaria,  Metrovia,  Latina,  Appia,  Ardeatina,  Os- 
tiensis,  Portuensis,  Aurelia,  and  Septimiana.  Of  these  original 
gates  the  following  have  been  destroyed  at  various  dates :  the 
Flaminia2  in  1561,  replaced  by  the  modern  porta  del  Popolo; 
the  Salaria  in  1871,  replaced  by  the  present  gate  of  the  same 
name;  the  Ardeatina3  in  1539,  to  make  way  for  the  Bastione  del 
Sangallo;  the  Portuensis4  in  1643,  when  the  city  limits  were 
moved  500  metres  farther  north ;  the  Amelia 5  in  1643,  replaced 

1  Jordan,  I.  1.  353-383. 

2  BC.  1877,  207-213;  1880,  169-182;  1881,  174-188. 
8  Mitt.  1894,  320-327.  *  OIL.  vi.  1190. 

5  A  second  porta  Aurelia  (Procop.  Bell.  Goth.  i.  19) ,  identical  with  the  porta 
S.  Petri  of  the  Descriptio  Murorum,  and  also  called  porta  Cornelia,  is  placed 
by  some  in  the  quay  wall  at  the  east  end  of  the  pons  Aelius,  and  by  others  in 


WALLS,    GATES,    AND   ROADS.  121 

by  the  present  porta  S.  Pancrazio ;  and  the  Septimiana *  in  1498, 
when  the  present  porta  Septimiana  was  built.  There  was 
probably  a  gate  at  or  near  the  point  where  the  Marrana  flowed 
under  the  wall,  and  an  archway  in  the  angle  of  the  wall  at 
this  place  is  usually  identified  with  the  porta  Metrovia. 

The  porta  Nomentana  was  closed  in  1562 ;  the  gate  just  south 
of  the  castra  Praetoria  some  time  before  the  ninth  century ; 
and  the  Asinaria  about  1574.  The  porta  Latina,  after  having 
been  closed  since  1827,  has  just  been  opened  again. 

The  Nomentana  and  Asinaria  are  very  much  alike  in  construc- 
tion, both  consisting  of  a  central  arch,  flanked  by  semicircular 
towers,  and  dating  from  the  restoration  by  Honorius.  Only 
one  of  the  towers  of  the  Nomentana  remains  standing.  The 
porta  Latina 2  is  also  of  the  same  form,  but  the  central  arch  is  of 
travertine  and  the  towers  stand  upon  octagonal  bases.  Over  the 
archway  is  a  row  of  five  windows,  and  the  keystone  is  orna- 
mented with  the  monogram  of  Christ.  The  gate  dates  from 
Honorius,  but  additions  were  made  to  it  in  Byzantine  times. 

Four  other  ancient  gates  are  still  in  use,  the  Tiburtina, 
Praenestina,  Appia,  and  Ostiensis,  and  one  postern  (posterula), 
the  modern  porta  Pinciana.  The  Tiburtina,  the  modern  porta 
S.  Lorenzo,  spans  the  via  Tiburtiua.  Its  central  arch  is  built  of 
travertine,  and  over  it  is  a  row  of  six  windows.  The  arch  was 
flanked  by  two  square  towers,  but  one  of  them  was  removed 
by  Pius  IX  in  1869.  The  towers  and  arch  are  the  work  of 
Honorius,3  but  the  foundations  of  the  towers  may  belong  to  the 
time  of  Aurelian.  Just  inside  this  gate  is  a  second  arch,  carry- 
ing the  specus  of  the  three  aqueducts,  Marcia,  Tepula,  and 
Julia,  which  entered  the  city  here.  This  arch,  built  by  Au- 
gustus,* is  much  injured;  and  even  in  the  fourth  century  the 


the  fortifications  of  the  mausoleum  of  Hadrian  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river. 
See  Tomassetti,  La  Campagna,  ii.  473;  Jordan,  I.  1.  375-377;  II.  166,  580; 
Richter,  Top2.  72 ;  Hiilsen,  Romae  veteris  tabula. 

1  Spart.  Vit.  Sev.  19. 

a  PBS.  iv.  13.  «  OIL.  vi.  1188.  <  OIL.  vi.  12M. 


122 


TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 


contour  of  the  ground  had  been  so  changed  at  this  point  that 
the  bases  of  the  towers  of  the  gate  of  Aurelian  are  almost  on  a 
level  with  the  spring  of  the  arch  of  the  aqueducts. 

The  porta  Praenestina,  the  modern  porta  Maggiore,  is  a  double 
arch  of  the  aqueducts  Anio  novus  and  Claudia  (p.  99),  built 
by  Claudius  over  the  via  Praenestina  and  the  via  Labicana, 


FIG.  16.  — PORTA  PRAENESTINA  (MAGGIORE). 

and  afterwards  incorporated  in  the  wall  of  Aurelian.  It  is  32 
metres  wide  and  24  high,  and  built  of  travertine,  with  two 
principal  archways,  each  14  metres  high  and  6.35  wide,  and 
three  small  gateways,  between  and  on  each  side  of  the  larger. 
The  piers  on  each  side  of  the  arches  have  niches  with  engaged 
Corinthian  columns  and  an  entablature.  On  the  attic,  which 
has  three  compartments,  are  three  inscriptions,1  one  by 

l  CIL.  vi.  1256-1258;  Melanges,  1906,  305-318. 


WALLS,    GATES,   AND  ROADS.  123 

Claiidius,  and  the  other  two  commemorating  restorations  by 
Vespasian  and  Titus.  The  via  Praenestina  passed  through  the 
north  gateway,  and  the  via  Labicana  through  the  south.  This 
latter  was  walled  up  by  Honorius,  and  a  tower  erected  on  each 
side  of  the  other  passage.  These  towers  stood  until  1838,  and 
beneath  one  of  them  the  tomb  of  Eurysaces  (p.  474)  was 
found. 

The  porta  Appia,  the  modern  porta  S.  Sebastiano,  consists  of 
an  arch  of  marble,  built  of  blocks  taken  from  some  other  edifice, 
perhaps  the  temple  of  Mars  (p.  432).  On  each  side  of  the 
arch  are  semicircular  towers  standing  on  double  square  bases, 
the  lower  one  of  which  is  of  marble.  In  the  towers  are  three 
rows  of  windows,  and  over  the  arch  two  rows  of  five  win- 
dows each.  On  the  keystone  is  the  monogram  of  Christ,  with 
Greek  inscriptions.  Above  the  towers  and  arch  are  crenelated 
battlements. 

The  porta  Ostiensis,  the  modern  porta  S.  Paolo,  as  built 
originally  by  Aurelian,  was  double ; 1  that  is,  there  were  two 
passages,  one  on  each  side  of  the  pyramid  of  Cestius  (p.  420), 
through  which  passages  the  two  roads  —  that  from  the  porta 
Trigemina  and  the  vicus  Piscinae  Publicae  —  passed  before 
uniting.  Honorius  closed  up  the  gate  on  the  west  of  the 
pyramid,  and  remodelled  the  other,  making  it  double  by  erect- 
ing outside  the  existing  passage  the  present  arch  of  travertine, 
with  five  windows  above  and  a  semicular  tower  on  each  side. 
The  whole  gate  is  surmounted  by  crenelated  battlements. 

The  porta  Pinciana,  originally  not  a  porta,  but  a  posterula* 
enlarged  and  rebuilt  at  a  later  date,  perhaps  by  Honorius,  con- 
sists of  an  arch  of  travertine,  flanked  by  two  semicircular 
towers,  of  which  the  bases  only  are  of  travertine.  The 
threshold  of  the  gate  is  formed  of  slabs  of  travertine,  taken 
from  some  earlier  building,  on  one  of  which  is  a  fragmentary 
inscription. 

i  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  511-513.  /     *  BC.  1892,  102. 


124  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

Roads.  —  As  early  as  the  fourth  century  B.C.,  the  Romans 
began  to  carry  out  their  policy  of  connecting  the  different 
parts  of  Italy  with  the  capital  by  means  of  a  system  of 
great  roads,  or  viae.  Some  of  these  lines  of  communication 
had  already  existed  for  a  long  time,  as,  for  instance,  the 
early  road  into  the  Sabine  territory,  by  which  the  salt  trade 
was  carried  on,  which  afterwards  became  the  via  Salaria ;  but 
the  actual  building  of  stone  highways  began  in  the  censor- 
ship of  Appius  Claudius.  These  roads  were  regarded  as 
beginning  at  the  gates  in  the  Servian  wall,  and  gates  in 
the  Aurelian  wall  were  afterwards  built  where  the  roads 
crossed  its  line. 

The  ordinary  pavement  of  these  roads  consisted  of  polygonal 
blocks  of  lava,  of  which  a  stream  had  flowed  down  from  the 
Alban  hills  to  Avithin  5  kilometres  of  the  city.  These  blocks 
were  usually  set  on  a  foundation  composed  of  three  strata : 
first,  a  layer  of  broken  stone  (statumen *) ;  second,  a  layer  of 
smaller  stones  mixed  with  lime  in  the  proportion  of  three  to 
one  (rudus) ;  and  third,  a  layer  of  cement  (nucleus).  Where 
the  bed  rock  was  close  to  the  surface  of  the  ground,  the  statu- 
men was  dispensed  with,  and  on  marshy  soil  it  was  replaced 
with  piles. 

The  width  of  these  roads  varied  from  3  to  5  metres,  and 
sometimes,  as  in  the  via  Appia,  there  were  paved  sidewalks 
on  each  side  of  the  road  itself.  This  pavement  is  practi- 
cally indestructible,  and  therefore,  except  where  it  has  been 
intentionally  removed  or  built  over,  it  exists  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent  along  all  the  roads,  so  that  their  line  can 
usually  be  determined.  In  general,  the  ancient  level  in 
Rome  and  the  immediate  vicinity  was  lower  than  the  present, 
and  the  old  pavement  is  buried  beneath  modern  streets  or 
buildings. 

i  Cf.  Vitr.  vii.  1.  5-7;  Stat.  Silv.  iv.  3.  1-43,  40^53. 


WALLS,    GATES,    AND   ROADS.  125 

The  principal  roads l  leading  out  of  Rome  at  the  time  when 
the  Aurelian  wall  was  built,  were  the  following:  — 

(1)  The  via  Flaminia  leading  to  Ariminum,  was  built  by  C. 
Flaminius,2  consul  in  223  B.C.     It  began  at  the  porta  Fontinalis 
and  ran  north  by  east  through  the  porta  Flaminia.     The  first 
part  of  this  road,  fiom  the  Capitol  to  the  portions  Agrippae, 
was  called  the  via  Lata,  and  corresponded  with  the  modern 
Corso.     The  ancient  pavement  has  been  found  both  within  and 
without  the  wall. 

(2)  The  via  Salaria  led  into  the  territory  of  the  Sabines,  and 
derived  its  name  from  the  salt  trade.     The  earliest  road,  the 
via  Salaria  vetus,  probably  left  the  city  by  one  of  the  gates  on 
the  Quirinal,  the  porta  Salutaris  or  the  porta  Quirinalis,  and 
crossed  the  line  of  the  Aurelian  wall  at  the  porta  Pinciana,  but 
it  seems  to  have  lost  its  importance  and  to  have  been  displaced 
in  ordinary  use  during  the  republic  by  the  via  Salaria  nova, 
which  began  at  the  porta  Collina  and,  passing  through   the 
porta  Salaria,  joined  the  old  road  northeast  of  the  city.     The 
line  of  the  Salaria  vetus  is  marked  by  the  modern  via  di  porta 
Pinciana,  and  that  of  the  Salaria  nova  by  the  present  via  di 
porta  Salaria,  the  pavement  of  both  having  been  found  within 
and  without  the  city. 

(3)  The  via  Nomentana  extended  to  Komentum  in  the  Sabine 
territory.     It  began  at  the  porta  Collina,  and  bending  a  little 
to  the  south  of  the  present  via  Venti  Settembre,  passed  through 
the  Aurelian  wall  by  the  porta  Nomentana,  and  crossed  the 
line  of  the  modern  via  Nomentana  about  450  metres  beyond 


1  Jordan,  II.  230-236.     For  a  complete  description  of  the  Salaria,  Nomen- 
tana,  and  Tiburtina,  beyond  the  city,  see  T.  Ashby,  Classical  Topography  of 
the  Roman  Campagna,  PBS.  iii.  1-212 ;  of  the  Praenestina,  Labicana,  and 
Collatina,  i.  127-285 ;  of  the  Latina,  iv.  3-158 ;  v.  215-432.    For  the  Appia,  see 
Ripostelli  et  Marucchi,  La  Via  Appia,  2d   ed.,  Rome,  1908;  Tomassetti,  La 
Campagna  Romana,  Rome,  1910,  ii.  HOT ;  for  the  Ardeatina,  ib.  409-461 ;  for 
the  Aurelia,  ib.  463-547. 

2  Liv.  Epit.  xx. 


126  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  HOME. 

the  porta  Pia.     The  ancient  pavement  exists  both  inside  and 
outside  of  this  gate. 

(4)  The  via  Tiburtina,  earlier  called  the  via  Gabina,  probably 
began  at  the  porta  Esquilina  and  ran  through  the  porta  Tibur- 
tina to  Tibur.     Outside  the  wall,  its  course  corresponds  closely 
with  the  modern  via  di  S.  Lorenzo,  but  inside  the  city  it  has 
been  entirely  built  over. 

(5)  The  via  Praenestina   also  began  at  the  porta  Esquilina, 
and  ran  southeast  to  Praeneste,  passing  through   the   porta 
Praenestina.     Within  the  city  its  pavement  has  been  found  to 
coincide  closely  with  the  line  of  the  via  di  Principe  Umberto 
and  via  di  porta  Maggiore,  and  it  also  exists  outside  the  city. 

(6)  The  via  Labicana,  extending  to   the  town   of  Labicum, 
branched  off  to  the  south  from  the  via  Praenestina  just  inside 
the  porta  Praenestina,  and  its  course  is  easily  traced  by  the 
pavement. 

(7)  The  via  Asinaria  began  at  the  porta  Caelemontana  and 
ran  southeast  through  the  porta  Asinaria.     It  appears  to  have 
coincided  for  a  short  distance  outside  the  wall  with  the  modern 
via  Appia  nuova.     About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  porta 
Asinaria,  the  pavement  of  an  ancient  road  branches  off  to  the 
north.     This  may  have  been  the  via  Tusculana. 

(8)  The  via  Latina  branched  off  to  the  east  from  the  via 
Appia,   about   half  a   mile  south   of  the  porta  Capena,  and 
joined  it  again  at  Casilinum.     It  passed  through  the  Aurelian 
wall  by  the  porta  Latina,  its-course  within  the  wall  coinciding 
with  the  via  di  porta  Latina,  where  the  ancient  pavement  still 
exists. 

(9)  The  via  Appia 1  was  built  in  312  B.C.  by  the  censor  Appius 
Claudius.     This  was  the  oldest  and  most  famous  of  Eonian 
roads,  connecting  the  capital  with  Capua  and  southern'  Italy. 
It  passed  through  the  Servian  wall  by  the  porta  Capena,  and 
through  the  wall  of  Aurelian  by  the  porta  Appia.     Between 

i  Liv.  ix.  29;  Stat.  Silv.  iv.  3.  1-3,  40-55 ;  ii.  2.  12. 


WALLS,   GATES,   AND  ROADS.  127 

these  gates  the  old  road  is  a  little  to  the  north  of  the  via  di 
porta  S.  Sebastiano,  but  its  course  is  distinctly  marked.  Out- 
side the  city  the  road  is  still  in  use,  and  the  ancient  pavement 
exists,  though  in  a  fragmentary  condition,  for  many  miles, 
especially  beyond  the  tomb  of  Caecilia  Metella. 

(10)  The  via  Ardeatina,1  extending  to  Ardea,  branched  off  to 
the  south  from  the  vicus  Piscinae  Publicae,  crossed  the  Aven- 
tine  between  S.  Balbina  and  S.  Saba,  and  passed  through  the 
porta  Naevia  of  the  Servian  wall  and  the  Porta  Ardeatina. 

(11)  The  via  Ostiensis  was  the  great  highway  from  Rome  to 
the  seacoast  at  Ostia.     It  is  a  matter  of  dispute  just  where  the 
road  began  to  bear  this  name.     The  road  which  passed  through 
the  porta  Trigemina  skirted  the  west  and  south  slopes  of  the 
Aventine,  and  united  with  the  vicus  Piscinae  Publicae,  which 
crossed  the  Aventine  just  beyond  the  pyramid  of  Cestius.   This 
condition  of  things  lasted  until  the  time  of  Honorius,  who  caused 
the  two  roads  to  unite  within  the  wall  of  Aurelian  and  to  pass 
out  through  one  gate,  the  porta  Ostiensis.     Whether  or  not  the 
whole  stretch  of  road  from  the  Porta  Trigemina  was  called  via 
Ostiensis  is   uncertain.     The   ancient  pavement  exists  along 
the  line  of  the  modern  via  della  Marmorata,  and  outside  the 
gate  in  the  via  di  S.  Paolo. 

(12)  The  via  Portuensis  ran  down  the  right  bank  of  the  Tiber 
to  Portus  Augusti.     This  road  began  at  the  pons  Aemilius  and 
extended  southwest  through  the  porta  Portuensis.     Its  ancient 
pavement  exists  within  the  city,  in  the  via  di  S.  Cecilia  and 
via  di  S.  Michele,  and  also  south  of  the  wall,  but  here  it  does 
not  correspond  with  any  modern  road. 

(13)  The  via  Aurelia 2  led  west  and  north  to  the  coast  towns 
of  Etruria.     The  Aurelia  vetus  began  at  the  pons  Aemilius, 
ascended   the   Janiculum,   and  crossed  the  line  of  the  later 
Aurelian  wall  at  the  porta  Aurelia.     Its  pavement  has  been 


1  BC.  1876,  144-146;  Mitt.  1894,  318-327. 

2  Tomassetti,  La  Campagna,  ii.  463  ff. ;  Jordan,  I.  1.  378-380;  II.  235. 


128  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

found  within  the  city,  but  it  does  not  correspond  with  any 
modern  street.  Outside  the  gate  it  follows  quite  closely  the 
strada  Tiradiavoli.  In  the  second  century  there  was  a  via 
Aurelia  nova,  which  probably  coincided  with  the  via  Cornelia 
for  a  short  distance,  and  then  branched  off  to  the  left  and 
joined  the  Aurelia  vetus  at  some  distance  west  of  the  city. 

(14)  The  via  Cornelia  ran  directly  west  from  the  pons  Aelius, 
and   then   northwest   into  southern   Etruria.      Its   pavement 
exists  beneath  the  piazza  and  church  of  St.  Peter's,  but  the 
name  Aurelia  nova  seems  to  have  gradually  displaced  Cornelia 
as  the  designation  of  this  part  of  the  road. 

(15)  The  via  Triumphalis  1  —  as  it  appears  to  have  been  called 
after  the  third  century  at  least  —  began  at  the  pons  Neroni- 
anus,  and  ran  northwest,  crossing  the  via  Cornelia.     After  the 
destruction  of  the  pons  Neronianus,  this  road  really  began  at 
the  via  Cornelia.     Its  pavement  has  been  found  between  the 
Borgo  and  the  piazza  del  Bisorgimento,  but  does  not  correspond 
with  any  modern  street. 

(16)  At  the  porta  Tiburtina  an  ancient  road  branched  off  to 
the  south,  called  the  via  Oollatina,  which  coincided  for  a  short 
distance  with  the  modern  vicolo  Malabarba.     It  ran  east  to 
Collatia,  and  was  of  little  importance  except  for  local  traffic. 
It  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Eegionary  Catalogue  among  the 
twenty-eight  viae.     Of  these,  besides  those  already  described, 
the  via  laniculensis  is  unknown,  and  the  rest  were  branch 
roads  at  greater  or  less  distances  from  the  city. 

1  For  another  explanation  of  this  name,  see  BC.  1908, 125-150. 


rig.17 
THE  PALATINE 

METRES 
6  25  IS)  7?  100 

\Still  unexcauaterf  or  built  ouer 


Probable  approximate  site  of  the  I'orta  Ro- 
manula. 

Ancient  stairway  (Scalae  Caci). 

Karly  cisterns  and  later  masonry. 

Temple  of  Magna  Mater. 

Temple  of  luppiter  Stator. 

Temple  of  Apollo  (Pinza),  or  of  luppiter  Vic- 
tor (Hulsen). 

Augusteum. 

Foundations  built  over  in  medieval  times. 

Altar  to  unknown  deity. 

House.of  Livia  (Germanicus)  or  of  Augustus. 

.  =  Substructures  of  first  and  second  cen- 
turies. 

Kxedra  of  Hadrian. 

Paedagogium. 

Domus  Gelotiana  (?). 

Temple  and  Portions  of  Apollo  (Hulsen),  or 
site  of  Adonaea. 


Crypto  portions. 

Foundations  of  Domus  Augustana. 

Additions  of  Hadrian's  time. 

Ancient  cistern. 

Remains  of  structures  built  against  the  slope 
of  the  Palatine. 

Remains  of  early  walls. 

Remains  of  earliest  walls. 
in  =  Probable  site  of  the  temple  of  Victoria. 
n    =  Probable  site  of  Lupercal. 
o     =  Lacus  luturnae. 
«     =  Hecent  excavations  (1907). 
x    =  Foundations  of  structure  of  Augustan   (?) 
period. 

So-called  Bibliotheca  and  Academia. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   PALATINE   HILL. 

The  Palatine  Hill  (p.  32)  is  an  irregular  quadrilateral  in 
shape,  and  about  2  .kilometres  in  circuit.  Its  highest  point  is 
43  metres  above  the  Tiber  level.  A  depression,  crossing  the 
hill  in  a  northeast  to  southwest  direction,  which  was  filled  up 
or  vaulted  over  during  the  first  century  of  the  empire,  divided 
it  into  two  parts,  the  Cermalus  on  the  west  and  the  Palatium 
proper  on  the  southeast ;  but  the  latter  name  was  gradually  ex- 
tended to  the  whole  hill.  The  spur  which  projected  from 
the  northeast  side  of  the  Palatine  toward  the  Esquiline  was 
called  the  Velia.  A  considerable  part  of  this  hill  has  not 
been  excavated,  and  the  excavations  already  made  have  not 
been  exhaustively  carried  out.1  Certain  identification  of  exist- 
ing ruins  is  therefore  often  impossible,  and  in  general  it  may 
be  said  that  the  topography  of  the  Palatine  is  in  a  very  unsatis- 
factory state. 

The  Regal  Period.  —  According  to  the  well-known  tradition2 
the  basket  containing  Komulus  and  Kemus  was  washed  ashore 
at  the  base  of  the  slope  of  the  Cermalus,  at  the  spot  where 
there  grew  a  fig  tree,  the  ficus  Kuminalis,  which  was  afterward 
miraculously  removed  to  the  Comitium.  The  twins  were 

1  Jordan,  I.  3.29-33.  The  latest  survey  and  map  of  the  Palatine  is  the 
Rilievo  Planimetrico  e  Altimetrico  del  Palatino,  prepared  by  the  Scuola 
d'  Applicazione  per  gli  Ingegneri,  and  published  in  NS.  1904,  43-46.  Good  pop- 
ular descriptions  of  the  Palatine  are:  Haugwitz,  Der  Palatin,  seine  Ge- 
schichte  und  seine  Ruinen,  Rome,  1901 ;  and  Cancogni,  Le  Rovine  del  Palatino, 
Milan,  1909. 

2Liv.  i.  4;  Ov.  Fast.  ii.  412;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  viii.  90;  PI.  NH.  xv.  77;  Tac. 
Ann.  xiii.  58. 

129 


130  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

suckled  by  a  she-wolf,  which  had  her  lair  in  a  grotto,  or  cave, 
beneath  the  fig  tree.1  This  den  was  called  the  Lupercal,  and 
from  it  issued  the  famous  fons  Lupercalis  (p.  91).  This  cave 
became  a  sanctuary  of  some  sort,  and  was  at  least  provided 
with  a  monumental  entrance,  for  its  restoration  is  recorded  in 
the  Monumentum  Ancyranum,2  and  it  is  mentioned  in  the 
Notitia.  A  shepherd,  Faustulus,  carried  the  children  to  his 
hut,  tugurium  Faustuli,3  on  the  top  of  the  hill.  In  later  years 
Romulus  lived  in  a  house  called  the  casa  Komuli,4  which  may  be 
regarded  as  identical  with  the  tugurium  Faustuli,  and  was  on 
the  southwest  corner  of  the  Cermalus,  at  the  top  of  the  scalae 
Caci.  This  hut  of  straw  is  described  as  having  been  preserved 
in  its  original  form  down  to  imperial  times,  and  hence  it  is 
not  possible  to  identify  it  with  any  of  the  ancient  tufa 
buildings  on  this  part  of  the  hill.  Varro5  speaks,  however,  of 
an  aedes  Romuli,  which  evidently  stood  in  some  relation  to 
the  casa,  and  it  has  been  conjectured  that  the  casa  may  have 
been  inside  the  aedes.6  Where  Romulus  took  the  famous  aus- 
pices, the  spot  was  marked  by  a  stone  platform,  the  Augurato- 
rium,  and  a  cornel  cherry  tree 7  sprang  from  the  lance  which 
the  founder  of  the  city  hurled  across  the  valley  from  the  Aven- 
tine.  To  the  earliest  period  also  belonged  the  curia  Saliorum,8 
or  assembling  place  of  the  Salii,  where  the  sacred  trumpet,  the 
lituus,  of  Romulus  was  kept. 

The  Ouriae  veteres,9  mentioned  by  Tacitus  as  one  point  in  the 
Palatine  pomerium  (p.  37),  was  the  earliest  sanctuary  of  the 
curies.  It  became  too  small,  and  a  second  structure,  the  Ouriae 
novae,10  was  built,  probably  in  the  immediate  neighborhood,  but 

iDionys.  i.  32,  79;  Jordan,  I.  3.  37-39;  Pais,  Legends,  43-59,  229-234. 

2  iv.  2.          s  Solin.  i.  18.         *  Dionys.  i.  79 ;  Plut.  Rom.  20.          «  LL.  v.  54. 

6  Jordan,  I.  3.  39-40;  II.  268;  Gilbert,  I.  59;  Richter,  Top*  134. 

7  Plut.  Rom.  20. 

8Cic.  de  Div.  i.  30;  Val.  Max.  i.  8.  11;  Gilbert,  I.  140;  III.  424;  Marquardt, 
Staatsverwaltung ,  iii.  427-433. 

9  Varro,  LL.  \.  155;  Gilbert,  I.  208-213;  Jordan,  I.  3.  43-44. 
i»Fest.  174;  Gilbert,  I.  196-199,  208-213;  II.  126-127. 


THE  PALATINE   HILL.  131 

seven  curies  refused  to  move  from  the  old  place  of  assembly. 
This  Curiae  veteres  was  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Palatine, 
and  probably  at  its  foot,  very  near  the  line  of  the  Sacra  via 
and  the  later  arch  of  Constantine. 

The  fourth  point  mentioned  by  Tacitus,  in  the  line  of  the 
pomerium,  was  the  sacellum  Larmn,  which,  in  spite  of  certain 
objections,  is  probably  identical  with  the  ara  Larum  Praestitum,1 
and  stood  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  hill,  behind  the  tem- 
ple of  Vesta,  where  the  Nova  via  bends  sharply  to  the  south- 
west. This  shrine  had  fallen  into  ruins  in  Ovid's2  day,  but 
may  have  been  restored  afterward. 

These  monuments  were  carefully  preserved  during  the  repub- 
lican period  and  even  longer,  but  their  exact  location  is  now 
only  a  matter  of  conjecture. 

The  Earliest  Remains.  —  The  earliest  remains  on  the  Pala- 
tine lie  on  the  top,  and  round  the  slope,  of  the  southwest  cor- 
ner of  the  hill,  that  is,  the  Cermalus,  to  which  tradition  assigned 
them ;  but  whether  or  not  any  of  them  actually  belong  to  the 
p  re-republican  period  is  somewhat  uncertain.  Unfortunately 
the  excavations  of  1907  were  not  carried  far  enough  to  be  de- 
cisive. Of  the  so-called  wall  of,  the  kings,  that  is,  the  original 
fortification  of  the  Palatine,  it  is  now  generally  agreed  that 
nothing  remains  except  a  few  courses 3  of  gray-green  tufa  at 
the  southwest  corner  of  the  hill  (k,  Fig.  17).  These  blocks 
are  smaller  than  those  of  brown  tufa  in  the  later  Servian  wall, 
and  resemble  those  used  in  the  substructures  of  the  temple  of 
luppiter  Capitolinus,  and  in  the  ancient  cistern  on  the  hill 
(p.  132) .  They  are  laid  up  against  the  rocky  slope  which  was  cut 
away  for  the  purpose  (p.  110).  Along  the  west  and  south  sides 
of  the  hill  are  considerable  fragments  of  other  walls,  of  the 

iRichter,  Top*  33  n.,  with  literature  there  cited ;  Mitt.  1905,  119. 
«  Fast.  v.  129-136. 

8  Jordan,  I.  3.  37;  Delbriick,  Der  Apollotempel  auf  dem  Marsfeld,  Rome, 
1903,  11-12. 


132  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

same  character  as  the  Servian  wall  (p.  Ill),  and  presumably 
not  earlier  than  that.  While  these  remains  belong,  therefore, 
to  a  republican  restoration  of  the  Palatine  fortifications,  some 
of  them  perhaps  being  as  late  as  the  fourth  century,  there  is 
little  doubt  that  they  occupy  practically  the  same  position  as 
the  original  wall.  Near  the  remains  of  the  earliest  wall  is 
an  ancient  cistern  in  the  side  of  the  hill,  but  this  is  not  the 
Lupercal,  as  it  is  commonly  called. 

At  the  top  of  the  hill,  between  the  temple  of  Cybele,  the 
house  of  Livia,  and  the  present  gardener's  house  (between  B 
and  the  slope  of  the  hill  above  J,  Fig.  17),  is  a  complicated 
network  of  walls,  foundations,  and  drains,  partially  laid  bare 
by  the  recent  excavations.1  No  adequate  plan  has  been  pub- 
lished, and  therefore  no  satisfactory  description  can  be  given.2 
Northeast  of  B  (Fig.  17)  is  a  circular  cistern,  usually  regarded 
as  of  very  early  date,  2.8  metres  in  diameter,  and  built  of  tufa 
lined  with  stucco.  Its  top  was  formed  of  overlapping  rings  of 
stone,  and  through  its  centre  a  later  wall  of  opus  quadratum 
was  built.  This  wall  of  brown  tufa  extends  southwest  to  the 
slope  of  the  hill,  and  seems  to  have  divided  the  precinct  of 
Cybele  from  the  higher  area  on  the  west.  Just  below  B  (Fig. 
17)  is  another  cistern,  about»6  metres  in  diameter,  built  of 
thin  blocks  of  gray-green  tufa,  and  coated  on-  the  outside  with 
clay.  A  circular  flight  of  steps  leads  down  to  the  bottom  of 
this  cistern,  and  its  roof  was  probably  conical. 

Among  the  remains  of  walls  of  different  periods  are  the  old- 
est of  gray-green  tufa,  those  of  a  later  date  of  brown  tufa  with 
masons'  marks,  and  the  most  recent  of  composite  construction. 
These  walls  run  northwest-southeast  and  northeast-southwest, 


1  NS.  1907,  185-205,  264-282,  444-460,  529-542 ;  Rendiconti  del  Lincei,  1907, 
669-680;  1908,  201-210;  1909,  249-262;  CQ.  1908,  145-147;  BC.  1907,  202-205; 
Pinza,  L' Angola  sudovest  del  Palatino,  reprinted  from  Annali  della  Societa 
degli  Ingeyneri  ed  Architetti  Italiani,  1907. 

2  A  complete  discussion  of  these  remains  has  been  promised  by  Pinza,  BC. 
1910,  30. 


THE   PALATINE    HILL.  133 

and  contain  drains  at  different  levels,  corresponding  to  the 
different  periods.  Some  of  the  walls  seem  to  have  served  as 
the  foundation  of  a  building,  part  of  which,  consisting  of 
blocks  of  tufa  forming  a  rectangle,  is  in  situ.  This  is  evi- 
dently a  restoration  of  an  earlier  structure  and  suggests  the 
aedes  Komuli  (p.  130). 

In  the  surface  of  the  native  rock  are  numerous  circular  holes, 
of  varying  depth  and  size,  and  shallow  curved  channels  run- 
ning at  different  angles.  The  variation  in  depth  seems  to  be 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  surface  of  the  rock  was  cut  away  to 
lower  the  level.  Partly  under  one  of  the  walls  is  a  rectangu- 
lar grave  for  inhumation,  covered  with  a  slab  of  brown  tufa 
now  broken,  and  dating  'from  the  fourth  century  B.C.  These 
holes  and  channels  are  not  cremation  tombs,  as  has  been 
thought,  but  probably  were  intended  to  support  the  framework 
of  the  thatched  huts  of  the  first  settlers  on  the  hill.  The  ex- 
istence of  one  fourth-century  grave  does  not  prove  that  this 
point  was  still  outside  the  wall  at  that  time,  for  exceptions  to 
the  law  of  the  Twelve  Tables  are  by  no  means  unknown. 

Just  below  the  edge  of  the  slope  are  some  remains  of  ma- 
sonry of  the  Augustan  period  which  seem  to  have  formed 
part  of  a  double  colonnade,  extending  downward  in  a  westerly 
direction  from  the  higher  level  round  the  temple  marked  F 
(Fig.  17).  This  colonnade  probably  intersected  the  protected 
approach  to  the  top  of  the  hill  at  this  point,  which  is  without 
much  doubt  the  scalae  Oaci. 

Tradition1  connected  this  corner  with  the  story  of  the  rob- 
ber Cacus,  whose  cave  was  at  the  base  of  the  cliff,  and  who 
was  himself  killed  by  Hercules.  In  reality,  Cacus  was  an 
ancient  Italic  firegod,  he  and  his  sister  Caca  being  worshipped 
as  deities  of  the  hearth.  This  worship  of  Caca2  was  after- 


*Ann.  d.  1st.  1884,  189-204;  Jordan,  I.  3.  41-42;  Solin.  i.  18;  Pint.  Rom.  20; 
Liv.  i.  7. 

«  Mitt.  1895,  163-164;  Roscher,  Lexikon  der  Mythologie,  i.  842.    See  p.  34. 


134  TOPOGEAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   HOME. 

ward  displaced  by  that  of  Vesta,  which  may  explain  the  ab- 
sence from  the  Palatine  city  of  any  shrine  of  the  latter  god- 
dess until  the  time  of  Augustus.  The  approach  itself  is  cut  in 
the  rock,  and  appears  to  have  been  the  bed  of  a  paved  road 
rather  than  a  flight  of  steps,  but  this  is  not  entirely  certain. 
It  was  walled  in  on  both  sides,  and  where  it  reaches  the  top  of 
the  hill,  the  travertine  foundations  of  a  gate  of  the  imperial 
period  are  in  situ.  This  approach  did  not  extend  straight 
down  to  the  valley,  but  curved  round  the  southwest  corner  of 
the  hill.  The  plausible  suggestion  has  been  made l  that  the 
porta  Romanula  (p.  38)  was  at  the  junction  of  this  scalae  and 
the  clivus  Victoriae,  rather  than  farther  north  (A,  Fig.  17). 

The  Republican  Period.  —  The  growth  of  the  city,  and  the  in- 
corporation of  the  hills  on  the  east,  removed  the  political  and 
business  centre  to  the  Forum  valley  and  diminished  greatly 
the  importance  of  the  Palatine.  During  the  republic  it  became 
the  chief  residence  quarter  of  the  wealthy,  especially  the  north- 
east and  northwest  sides,  which  overlooked  the  Forum  and  the 
Velabrum.  Access  to  this  part  of  the  hill  was  given  by  the 
clivus  Victoriae  and  the  clivus  Palatinus  (p.  165)  and  by  a 
flight  of  steps  at  the  north  corner,  leading  up  from  the  Forum 
behind  the  temple  of  Castor  (cf.  p.  161).2  Possibly  this  stair- 
way was  the  scalae  Anulariae  mentioned  by  Suetonius.3 

Mention  is  made  in  extant  Roman  literature  of  at  least  fifteen 
houses  on  this  hill,  built  and  inhabited  by  famous  citizens  of 
the  last  century  of  the  republic,  among  them  M.  Fulvius,4  con- 
sul in  125  B.C.  ;  Q.  Lutatius  Catulus,5  consul  in  102 ;  M.  Livius 
Drusus,6  whose  house  passed  into  the  hands  of  M.  Licinius 


i  CQ.  1908, 145. 

a  NS.  1882,  237-238,  pi.  xiv. 

^  Aug.  72. 

4  Cic.  pro  Domo,  102, 114 ;  Val.  Max.  vi.  3.  1. 

6  Varro,  RR.  iii.  5 ;  PI.  NH.  xvii.  2. 

e  Veil.  ii.  14.  3 ;  Cic.  passim ;  Gilbert,  III.  418-419. 


THE   PALATINE    HILL. 


135 


Crassus,  and  was  afterward  bought  by  Cicero ;  Quintus  Cicero;1 
Catiline; 2  M.  Aerailius  Scaurus ; 3  and  Q.  Hortensius.4  The  re- 
mains of  one,  the  domus  Liviae  or  domus  Germanici,  were  brought 


•  ->  r 


FIG.  18.  — PLAN  OF  THE  DOMUS  LJVIAE. 


ic.  adAtt.  iv.  3.  2. 
2  Suet,  de  Gramm.  17. 

*  PI.  NH.  xvii.  5;  xxxvi.  6;  Ascon.  in  Scaur.  45. 

4  Suet.  Aug.  72.    For  all  the  private  houses  on  the  Palatine,  cf.  Jordan,  I. 
3.  55-60,  104-105. 


136  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

to  light  by  the  excavations  of  1869.1  This  house  is  the  only 
well-preserved  example  of  a  Roman  private  dwelling  of  this 
period.  It  has  usually2  been  supposed  that  it  belonged  to 
Li  via,  the  mother  of  the  emperor  Tiberius,  or  to  her  first 
husband,  Tiberius  Claudius  Nero.  On  account  of  its  associa- 
tions it  was  not  torn  down  but  incorporated  into  the  later 
imperial  residence,  while  retaining  its  original  form  and  modest 
exterior. 

It  stands  on  one  side  of  the  depression  which  crossed  the 
Palatine,  and  its  first,  or  ground,  floor  is  on  a  much  lower  level 
than  the  adjoining  palaces  of  Tiberius  and  Domitian,  the  latter 
of  which  was  built  on  very  lofty  foundations.  A  stairway  of 
travertine  leads  from  the  upper  level  to  the  passage  from  which 
one  enters  the  atrium  of  the  house.  This  passage  is  connected 
with  a  long  cryptoporticus  which  runs  to  the  palace  of  Calig- 
ula. From  the  upper  story  another  cryptoporticus  leads  to  the 
Flavian  palace  and  to  the  chambers  under  the  adjacent  temple 
(F,  Fig.  17). 

The  material  out  of  which  this  house  is  constructed  is  con- 
crete, faced  with  opus  reticulatum.  The  inner  walls  were 
covered  with^  stucco  and  painted.  The  main  hall,  or  atrium, 
13  by  10  metres,  was  partially  roofed  over,  and  from  it,  on  the 
side  opposite  the  entrance,  open  three  rooms,  each  about  7 
metres  deep.  The  central  room,  1  metre  wider  than  the  other 
two,  is  called  the  tablinum,  or  reception  room,  and  was  evi- 
dently the  most  richly  decorated.  South  of  the  atrium  is  the 
triclinium,  or  dining  room,  8  by  4  metres.  All  these  rooms 
are  paved  with  black  and  white  mosaic,  except  the  tablinum, 
where  there  is  also  some  marble. 

When  this  house  was  first  excavated,  the  wall-paintings  were 
remarkably  fresh,  but  they  have  faded  rapidly  since  that  time. 


1  GA.  1888, 128-130;  Jordan,  I.  3.  60-63. 

2  For  a  very  recent  theory  that  this  house  was  the  original  domus  Augus- 
tana  (pp.  143,  146),  see  BC.  1910,  30. 


THE   PALATINE    HILL.  '  137 

They  belong  to  the  second,  or  republican,  style  of  Pompeian 
wall-paintings,1  and  consist  of  architectural  details,  columns, 
architraves,  etc.,  variously  enriched,  and  panels  on  which  are 
pictures  representing  scenes  from  Greek  mythology,  as  Galatea 
and  Polyphemus,  and  lo  and  Argus.  Back  of  the  triclinium 
is  a  row  of  small  bathrooms  and  household  offices.  On  one 
side  of  the  atrium,  a  narrow  staircase  leads  to  the  upper  floor, 
which  was  wholly  occupied  by  small  chambers,  evidently  in- 
tended for  sleeping  purposes.  This  part  of  the  house  seems 
to  have  been  restored  at  various  times,  especially  under  Severus 
and  Caracalla.  Excavations  now  going  on  have  disclosed  a 
deep  well  behind  the  tablinum  on  the  right,  and  also  the 
walls  of  earlier  buildings. 

Beneath  the  Flavian  palace,  the  walls  of  another  substantial 
house  of  this  period  still  exist,  having  been  made  use  of,  wher- 
ever it  was  possible,  in  the  foundations  of  the  palace.  Com- 
plete excavations  would  doubtless  show  that  this  was  the  fate 
of  many  such  houses  on  this  hill.  According  to  the  Regionary 
Catalogue,  there  were  eighty-nine  domus  and  twenty-six 
hundred  and  forty  insitlae  in  region  X  in  the  fourth  century, 
although  the  domus  Augustana  and  the  temples  occupied  so 
large  a  portion  of  the  hill,  and  to  provide  room  for  so  many 
dwellings  is  a  most  perplexing  problem.  They  were  probably 
crowded  very  closely  together  on  the  lower  slopes  and  at  the 
base  of  the  hill,  where  many  vestiges  have  recently  been  found. 

The  development  of  the  Palatine  as  a  residence  quarter  was 
accompanied  by  the  erection  of  temples,  the  earliest  of  which 
date  from  the  beginning  of  the  third  century  B.C.  According 
to  tradition,  Romulus  vowed  a  temple  to  luppiter  Stator2  at  the 
critical  moment  in  the  battle  between  the  Romans  and  the 
Sabines,  when  the  former  had  been  driven  across  the  Forum 
valley  to  the  porta  Mugonia ;  but  this  temple  was  never  built. 

1  Mon.  d.  1st.  xi.  22, 23 ;  Man,  Geschichte  der  Wandmalerei,  167-174,  196-205. 
*Liv.  i.  12,  41;  x.  36,  37;  Dionys.  ii.  50;  Plut.  Cic.  16;  Hermes,  1885,  407- 
429;  BC.  1902,  35;  1903, 18;  CR.  1902,  336;  1905,  75;  Jordan,  I.  3.  20-23. 


138  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

In  294  B.C.  the  consul  M.  Atilius  Regulus  made  a  similar  vow 
under  similar  circumstances  in  a  battle  with  the  Samnites,  and 
erected  the  temple  immediately  afterward.  It  stood  on  the 
summa  Sacra  via,  outside  the  porta  Mugonia  and  probably  just 
east  of  the  later  arch  of  Titus.  The  most  recent  excavations 
(see  p.  313)  seem  to  show  that  the  massive  foundations  on  which 
the  medieval  turris  Cartularia  was  built,  belong  to  a  restora- 
tion of  this  temple,  and  that  the  early  structure  may  possibly 
have  been  a  little  farther  northwest.  The  temple  is  represented 
on  the  relief  of  the  Haterii  (Fig.  2)  'as  hexastyle.1  Near  it  was 
a  statue,  either  of  Oloelia  or  Valeria.2 

In  295  B.C.,  at  the  battle  of  Sentinum,  the  dictator  Q.  Fabius 
Maximus  Rullianus  vowed  a  temple  to  luppiter  Victor,3  which 
was  completed  within  the  next  two  years,  but  nothing  further 
is  known  of  it,  except  that  the  day  of  dedication  was  April  13. 
A  number  of  inscriptions 4  have  been  found,  which  show  that 
on  this  hill  there  was  also  a  temple  dedicated  to  luppiter  Pro- 
pugnator,  and  this  has  sometimes  been  identified  with  that 
of  luppiter  Victor,  but  without  good  reason. 

The  temple  of  Victoria 5  was  said  to  be  older  than  the  city  of 
Romulus  itself,  but  it  was  really  built  by  L.  Postumius  Megel- 
lus  in  294  B.C.  Almost  nothing  is  known  of  its  subsequent 
history,  except  that  the  stone  which  represented  the  Magna 
Mater  was  deposited  here  during  the  years  204-191,6  while  the 
temple  of  the  Magna  Mater  was  being  completed.  There  is  no 
record  of  any  restoration/  and  its  site  is  a  matter  of  dispute. 
The  ascent  to  the  Palatine  on  the  west  side  was  by  the  clivus 
Victoriae,8  which  evidently  took  its  name  from  this  temple. 
This  clivus 9  probably  began  at  the  porta  Romanula,  near  the 


l  Mon.  d.  1st.  v.  7.  2  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  28 ;  Gilbert,  I.  226. 

»  Liv.  x.  29;  GA.  1888, 130;  Jordan,  I.  3.  50-51 ;  CR.  1908,  155. 
*  OIL.  vi.  2004-2009.  6  Liv.  x.  33 ;  Dionys.  i.  32.  6  Liv.  xxix.  14. 

i  AJA.  1905,  43&440.  «  Jordan,  FUR.  37;  Fest.  262. 

»  BC.  1885,  157-160 ;  NS.  1882,  233-238 ;  1886,  51,  123 ;  Mitt.  1895, 23-24.    Cf ., 
however,  the  suggestion  on  p.  134. 


THE   PALATINE   HILL.  139 

present  church  of  S.  Teodoro.  The  modern  path  leads  from 
the  entrance  north  of  the  church  toward  the  hill,  and  then 
turns  toward  the  left  and  skirting  the  cliff  ascends  to  the  north 
corner  of  the  hill,  where  it  turns  abruptly  to  the  right  and 
passes  under  the  substructures  of  the  domus  Gaiana  (p.  147). 
This  is  the  line  of  an  ancient  road,  of  which  the  pavement  is 
still  in  existence,  and  which  is  usually  identified  with  the 
clivus  Victoriae.  There  is  no  sufficient  reason  for  doubting 
that  this  is  the  line  of  the  clivus  as  it  existed  after  the  erection 
of  this  part  of  the  palace;  but  this  building  must  have  mate- 
rially altered  the  previous  conditions  and  the  earlier  line  of  the 
road. 

At  the  point  marked  m  on  the  Palatine  plan  (Fig.  17),  some 
fragments  of  inscriptions 1  were  found  in  the  early  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  which  belong  to  a  Victoria.  On  the  sup- 
position that  these  fragments  were  found  in  situ,  the  temple  of 
Victoria  was  placed  here  on  the  side  hill,2  near  the  beginning 
of  the  clivus,  and  the  tufa  masonry,  found  during  the  recent 
excavations,  may  have  belonged  to  such  a  building.  Accord- 
ing to  this  view,  the  clivus  took  its  name  from  a  temple  at  its 
lower  end,  rather  than  from  one  to  which  it  led,  as  was  usually 
the  case.  (Cf.  clivus  Capitolinus,  clivus  Salutis,  etc.) 

Another  temple  on  this  hill,  and  one  of  the  most  famous 
in  the  city,  was  that  of  the  Magna  Mater,  or  Oybele.3  In  204 
B.C.  a  Roman  embassy  brought  to  Rome  from  the  sanctuary 
of  Cybele  at  Pessinus  the  pointed  black  stone  which  repre- 
sented the  goddess,  and  this  temple,  erected  in  her  honor,  was 
dedicated  in  191  by  the  praetor  M.  Junius  Brutus.  It  was 
twice  burned,  and  restored  by  Metellus  in  111  B.C.  and  by 
Augustus  in  3  A.D.,  and  was  standing  unharmed  in  the  fourth 

*  OIL.  vi.  31059-31060. 

*BC.  1883,  206-212;  Mitt.  1895,  23-24;  Jordan,  I.  3.  47-50;  Melanges,  1889, 
197-199;  CR.  1908,  155.  Cf.,  however,  p.  142. 

«Liv.  xxix.  37;  xxxvi.  36;  Mart.vii.  73;  Cic.  de  Har.  24;  Gilbert,  III.  104- 
107;  Jordan,  I.  3.51-54. 


140  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

century.1  The  stone  needle  itself  was  removed  by  Elagabalus 
to  the  lararium  of  the  Flavian  palace,  where  it  was  probably 
seen  by  Bianchini  in  1725.2  Inscriptions3  relating  to  the  Magna 
Mater,  a  portion  of  a  colossal  female  figure  —  undoubtedly  the 
goddess  — seated  on  a  throne,  and  a  fragment  of  a  base  with 
the  paws  of  lions,  the  regular  attendants  of  Cybele,  have  been 
found  near  the  podium  of  the  temple  marked  C  on  the  plan 
of  the  Palatine. 

Other  temples  4  built  during  this  period  were  the  aedicula 
Victoriae  Virginia,5  erected  by  M.  Porcius  Cato  in  193  B.C.  near 
the  temple  of  Victoria;  a  temple  to  luno  Sospita,6  of  which 
nothing  further  is  known ;  a  third,  to  Luna  Noctiluca ; 7  and  a 
fourth,  to  Fides,8  the  erection  of  which  is  assigned  to  Roma,  the 
daughter  of  Ascanius,  but  which  is  otherwise  unknown.  A 
fifth  to  Fortuna  Huiusce  Diei  (cf .  p.  349),9  known  to  have  been  on 
the  Palatine  because  of  the  vicus  Huiusce  Diei  in  the  inscription 
on  the  Capitoline  Base,  is  of  unknown  date.  It  was  probably 
in  this  temple  that  L.  Aemilius  Paulus,  and  afterward  Q. 
Lutatius  Catulus,  set  up  statues  by  Phidias.10  No  trace  of  these 
structures  remains,  nor  of  the  altars  or  shrines  to  Dea  Febris,11 
Dea  Viriplaca,12  and  Venus,13  which  are  mentioned  as  having  stood 
on  this  hill. 

On  the  southwest  slope  of  the  hill,  toward  the  Velabrum, 
is  an  altar14  of  primitive  form,  on  which  is  the  following 
inscription : 15  — 

lMon.  Anc.  iv.  8;  Val.  Max.  i.  8,  11;  Ov.  Fast.  iv.  347;  Obseq.  99;  Vop. 
Vit.  Aurel.  1 ;  Treb.  Poll.  Vit.  Claudi,  4.    Cf.  AJA.  1905,  438-440. 
*Del  Palazzo  dei  Cesari,  Rome,  1738,  254. 
»  GIL.  vi.  3702,  1040.  *  Jordan,  I.  3.  45-47. 

6  Liv.  xxxv.  9.  «Ov.  Fast.  ii.  55. 

7  Varro,  LL.  v.  68.  8  Fest.  269. 

9  Jordan,  I.  3.  104;  Wissowa,  Religion  der  Romer,  211 ;  Richter,  Top.2  142. 
i°Pl.  NH.  xxxiv.  54. 

11  Cic.  de  Nat.  Dear.  in.  63;  de  Legg.  ii.  28. 
"Val.  Max.  ii.  1,  6.  i» Dio  Cass.  Ixxiv.  3. 

"  J/ztt.  1894,  33;  Jahreshefte  d.  oest.  arch.  Institute,  1903, 142. 
.  i.  632;  vi.  110. 


THE   PALATINE   HILL.  141 

SEI   DEO  SEI   DEIVAE  SAC(ntm) 

C.   SEXTIVS  C.   F.  CALVIN  VS   PR(aetor) 

DE  SENATI  SENTENTIA  RESTITVIT 

This  C.  Sextius  Calvinus  was  a  candidate  for  the  praetorship 
in  100  B  c.,  and  the  altar  was  probably  erected  soon  after 
that  date.  It  is  of  travertine,  and  undoubtedly  a  copy  of  the 
earlier  one  on  which  was  the  original  inscription.  It  had 
no  connection  with  the  altar  erected  to  commemorate  the 
voice  heard  in  the  grove  of  Vesta,  announcing  the  approach 
of  the  Gauls,  and  known  as  the  ara  Aii  Locutii.1  The  altar  of 
Calvinus  is  not  in  situ,  as  the  level  of  the  soil  at  this  point  is 
about  12  metres  above  that  of  the  republic. 

At  a  very  much  later  date,  the  mad  emperor  Elagabalus 
(218-222  A.D.)  built  a  temple  of  the  Sun  2  (Elagabalus)  near  the 
domus  Augustana,  in  which  he  is  said  to  have  intended  to 
place  the  image  of  the  Magna  Mater,  the  sacred  fire  of  Vesta, 
the  palladium  and  the  ancilia.  This  temple  was  burned,  prob- 
ably not  long  after  the  death  of  Elagabalus,  and  it  is  not  men-  . 
tioned  in  the  Notitia. 

The  Notitia  mentions  a  Fortuna  Eespiciens,  evidently  a  temple 
or  shrine  of  this  deity  in  the  vicus  Fortunae  Respicientis  of 
the  Capitoline  Base. 

There  are  on  that  part  of  the  hill  which  lies  between  the  domus 
Augustana,  the  domus  Tiberiana,  and  the  southwest  edge  the 
remains  of  two  temples.  The  first  (C,  Fig.  17)  is  between  the 
domus  Tiberiana  and  the  scalae  Caci,  and  its  ruins3  consist  of 
a  massive  podium,  made  of  irregular  pieces  of  tufa  and  peperino 
laid  in  thick  mortar,  and  fragments  of  columns  and  entablature. 
The  walls  of  the  podium  are  3.84  metres  thick  (those  of  the 
cella  were  somewhat  thinner)  on  the  sides  and  5.50  in  the  rear, 
but  this  extraordinary  thickness  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 


ic.  de  Div.  i.  101;  Gell.  xvi.  17. 
2Lamprid.  Vit.  HeL  1,  3,  6;  Jordan,  I.  3.  105-106;  MM.1892,  158. 
*Mitt.  1895,  7-23.  * 


142  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

rear  wall  is  double,  there  being  an  air  space,  1.80  metres  wide, 
between  the  parts.  This  wall  was  not  faced  on  the  outside  with 
opus  quadrature,  but  only  with  stucco.  The  total  length  of  the 
temple  was  33.18  metres,  and  its  width  17.10.  It  was  prostyle 
hexastyle,  and  was  approached  by  a  flight  of  steps  extending  en- 
tirely across  the  front.  From  the  rear  wall  of  the  cella  projects 
the  base  of  a  pedestal,  on  which  an  image  or  statue  probably 
stood.  The  remaining  fragments  of  columns,  capitals,  and  en- 
tablature are  of  peperino,  and  belong  to  a  building  of  early  date, 
undoubtedly  the  oldest  of  which  any  considerable  remains  have 
been  preserved,  and  there  are  no  traces  of  any  later  restoration. 

The  ruins1  of  the  other  temple  (F,  Fig.  17)  are  between  the 
scalae  Caci  and  the  domus  Augustana,  and  consist  of  a  podium 
of  concrete,  44  metres  long  and  25  wide,  faced  with  blocks  of 
tufa.  On  and  around  the  podium  are  fragments  of  columns  of 
tufa  and  of  red  granite,  and  of  colored  marbles,  some  of  which 
may  have  belonged  to  the  temple.  The  fragment  of  an  altar, 
now  standing  on  the  steps,  and  dedicated  by  Cn.  Domitius 
Calvinus,  consul  in  53  B.C.,  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  temple. 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  of  these  temples,  that  at  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  hill  is  either  the  temple  of  Victoria 2 
or  of  the  Magna  Mater,3  and  the  evidence  now  available  seems 
to  be  distinctly  in  favor  of  the  latter.  The  other  temple  (F) 
has  sometimes  been  assigned  conjecturally  to  luppiter  Victor, 
but  the  most  recent  investigation  *  is  tending  to  identify  it  with 
Augustus's  temple  of  Apollo  (p.  144).  If  this  identification  be 
correct,  the  remains  of  a  rectangular  structure  (X,  Fig.  17) 
may  belong  to  the  library  of  this  temple. 

The  Empire.  —  The  Palatine  had  been  the  Kome  of  the  kings, 
but  under  the  republic  the  political,  religious,  and  financial 

1  OA.  1888,  130;  Lanciani,  Ruins,  138-139. 

2  Richter,  Top*  136-139.    Cf .  p.  139. 

SHulsen,  Mitt.  1895,  3-28;  1908,  368-374;  Jordan,  1. 3.  48,  51-54. 
*  BC.  1910,  3-41.    * 


THE  PALATINE   HILL.  143 

centre  of  Roman  life  was  transferred  to  the  Forum.  One  of 
the  outward  signs  of  the  return  to  monarchy  was  the  fixing  of 
the  abode  of  the  emperors  upon  the  Palatine  hill. 

Augustus  was  born  on  this  hill,  ad  capita  bubula,1  a  street  or 
quarter  at  its  northeast  angle,  where,  after  his  death,  a  shrine 
was  erected  to  his  memory.  After  the  death  of  Julius  Caesar, 
Augustus  bought  the  house  of  the  orator  Hortensius,  a  modest 
dwelling,  which  he  enlarged  in  36  B.C.  by  purchasing  adjacent 
property.  Soon  afterward  it  was  struck  by  lightning,  and 
Augustus  began  to  construct  the  temple  of  Apollo  at  the  point 
where  the  fire  broke  out.  The  house  itself  was  again  injured 
by  fire,  and  rebuilt  with  the  aid  of  a  popular  subscription.2 
Besides  this  house,  the  Augustan  group  on  the  Palatine  com- 
prised the  temple  and  portico  of  Apollo,  the  library,  and  the 
temple  of  Vesta. 

Either  before  or  soon  after  the  death  of  Augustus,  his  house 
was  called  the  domus  Augustana,3  and  this  name  continued  to  be 
applied  to  the  imperial  residence  down  to  the  fourth  century. 
In  modern  times  a  distinction  has  frequently  been  made  be- 
tween the  domus  Augustana  and  the  other  parts  of  the  com- 
pleted palace,  the  former  term  being  limited  to  that  portion 
which  is  still  covered  by  the  villa  Mills ;  and  this  distinction 
has  sometimes  been  accompanied  by  the  belief  that  this  part 
was  the  original  house  of  Augustus.  In  reality,  however,  this 
part  dates  from  the  time  of  Domitian  or  even  later.  Domus 
Augustana  denoted  the  whole  imperial  residence 4  except  the 
domus  Tiberiana  (see  below),  at  any  given  period.  Domus  Flavia, 
domus  Oommodiana,  domus  Severiana,  are  modern  terms  for  the 
parts  erected  by  these  several  emperors. 

After  Augustus  became  pontifex  maximus  in  12  B.C.,  instead 

1  Suet.  Aug.  5;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  viii.  361. 

2  Suet.  Aug.  57.    Cf .  Dio  Cass.  Iv.  12. 

'Mitt.  1889,  185,  256;  1894,  3-36;  GA.  1888,  145-147;  Melanges,  1889,  189- 
191 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  63-66,  74-76;  GIL.  vi.  8640-8652. 
4  Joseph.  Ant.  lud.  xix.  1, 15. 


144  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

of  living  in  the  doraus  Publica,  the  official  home  of  the  pon- 
tifex  maximus  near  the  temple  of  Vesta  in  the  Forum,  he  pre- 
sented1 this  property  to  the  Vestal  Virgins,  and  built  a  new 
temple  to  Vesta  close  to  or  within 2  his  own  residence  on  the 
Palatine.  This  temple  —  doubtless  of  similar  form  to  that  in 
the  Forum  —  was  destroyed  in  the  fire  of  363  A.D.,  and  no  cer- 
tain remains  of  it  have  been  found. 

The  most  magnificent  of  the  buildings  of  Augustus,  on  the 
Palatine,  was  the  famous  temple  of  Apollo,3  which  was  vowed 
in  36  B.C.,  during  the  campaign  against  Sextus  Pompeius,  be- 
gun in  the  same  year,  and  dedicated  October  9,  28  B.c.4  It  was 
built  of  solid  white  marble  and  filled  with  works  of  art  and 
treasures  of  every  sort,  but  as  almost  no  details  of  its  construc- 
tion are  given  by  classical  writers,  it  is  impossible  to  recon- 
struct it,  except  in  a  general  way. 

It  was  probably  either  prostyle  hexastyle,  or  peripteral  and 
octostyle,  but  in  either  case  the  intercolumniations  were  twice 
the  diameter  of  the  columns.5  In  the  area  Apollinis  stood  a 
colossal  bronze  statue  of  Apollo  Actius,  pouring  a  libation  on 
an  altar  before  him.  Around  this  altar  were  grouped  four 
bronze  oxen,  the  work  of  Myron.  The  temple  was  connected 
with,  and  perhaps  surrounded  by,  a  portions,6  the  main  en- 
trance of  which,  directly  opposite  the  front  of  the  temple,  was 
formed  by  an  arch,7  above  which  stood  a  famous  work  of 
Lysias,  —  Apollo  and  Diana  in  a  quadriga.  The  columns  of 
the  porticus  were  of  giallo  antico,  and  between  them  were 
statues  of  the  fifty  daughters  of  Danaus,8  while  before  them 

iDio  Cass.  liv.  27;  Ov.  Fast.  iv.  949;  Met.  xv.  864. 

2  GA.  1888,  151-152;  BC.  1883, 198-205;  Mitt.  1895,  28-37;  Altmann,  Rund- 
bauten,  72.  f 

8GA.  1888,  147-155;  Melanges,  1889,  191-197;  BC.  1883,  185-198;  Mitt. 
1890,  76-77;  1896,  193-212;  Richter,  Top?  148-149,  and  note;  Jordan,  I.  3. 
66-74. 

4  Veil.  ii.  81;  Dio  Cass.  liii.  1;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  viii.  720.  See  references  in 
Richter,  Top.2  147.  «  Vitr.  iii.  3,  4.  6  prop.  jj.  31.  2,  9 ;  Veil.  ii.  81. 

1  PI.  NH.  xxxvj.  36.  8  prop.  jj.  31.  3.4. 


146  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

were  placed  equestrian  statues  of  their  unfortunate  husbands, 
the  sous  of  Aegyptus.1  The  facade  of  the  temple  was  orna- 
mented with  bronze  statues,  and  its  doors  with  bas-reliefs  rep- 
resenting the  defeat  of  the  Gauls  and  the  death  of  the  children 
of  Niobe.  Adjoining  the  portions,  or  perhaps  forming  a  part 
of  it,  was  a  library,2  consisting  of  two  sections,  one  for  Greek 
and  one  for  Latin  books,  with  medallion  portraits  of  famous 
authors  on  the  walls. 

The  position  of  this  temple  and  of  the  adjacent  house  of 
Augustus  is  now  in  dispute.  According  to  the  view3  hitherto 
prevailing,  the  temple  and  its  porticus  stood  on  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  hill,  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  convent  and 
gardens  of  S.  Sebastiano,  while  the  library  and  house  were 
probably  within  the  area  covered  by  the  villa  Mills  or  some 
part  of  the  domus  Flavia.  If  this  be  true,  all  traces  of  the 
four  buildings  have  vanished  entirely,  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  portions  of  the  statues  of  the  Danaids,  and  some  archi- 
tectural fragments  which  were  not  found  in  situ,  but  in  the 
course  of  excavations  round  the  villa  Mills.  According  to  the 
most  recent  theory,4  all  the  buildings  of  Augustus  are  located 
on  the  southwestern  part  of  the  hill,  and  the  temple  of  Apollo 
is  identified  with  the  existing  podium  (F,  Fig.  17)  which  has 
been  sometimes  assigned  to  the  temple  of  luppiter  Victor. 
The  house  of  Livia  is  consequently  identified  with  the  original 
domus  Augustana,  and  the  tufa  foundations  between  it  and 
the  temple  with  the  library.  The  porticus  cannot  have  sur- 
rounded the  temple,  but  is  supposed  to  have  occupied  the 
space  between  it  and  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  also  to  have  ex- 
tended a  short  distance  down  the  slope  until  it  met  the  scalae 
Caci  (p.  133).  Various  remains  of  masonry  of  the  Augustan 
epoch  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  seem  to  have  belonged  to  such  a 

iSchol.  Pers.  2,  56. 

2  Melanges,  1889,  199-205;  Suet.  Aug.  29;  Juv.  i.  128;  Tac.  Ann.  ii.  37,  83; 
Amm.  Marc,  xxiii.  3.  3. 

8  Milt.  1896,  193-212;  Jordan,  I.  3.  64-66.  *BC. 1910,  3-41. 


THE  PALATINE   HILL.  147 

portions.  Some  grave  difficulties  inherent  in  the  current  view 
are  avoided  by  the  second,  and  while  only  a  preliminary  re- 
port of  the  investigation  has  as  yet  been  published,  and  a  final 
decision  would  be  premature,  the  available  evidence  seems  to 
point  distinctly  to  the  southwest  part  of  the  hill. 

Tiberius  did  not  live  in  the  domus  Augustana,  but  built 
another  house  for  himself,  the  domus  Tiberiana,1  which  adjoined 
the  domus  Germanici,  and  extended  north  and  west  from  it.2 
This  palace  was  built  round  a  central  court,  about  100  metres 
square,  and  surrounded  by  a  colonnade.  It  did  not  extend  on 
the  north  as  far  as  the  clivus  Victoriae,  and  its  faqade  was 
probably  on  the  east.  Among  the  apartments  which  opened 
off  from  the  central  court  there  seems  to  have  been  a  famous 
library,  the  bibliotheca  domus  Tiberianae,3  which  was  in  existence 
in  the  fourth  century  (see  p.  162).  The  site  of  this  house  is  now 
occupied  by  the  Farnese  gardens,  and  there  is  practically  noth- 
ing visible  except  some  substructures  on  the  south  side,  which 
belong  to  the  platform,  partly  natural,  partly  artificial,  on 
which  the  palace  stood.  Between  the  original  walls  is  a  row 
of  chambers  of  later  date,  which  are  cut  back  into  the  native 
tufa  and  finished  with  opus  reticulatum.  They  were  designed 
for  the  use  of  slaves,  soldiers,  and  palace  attendants,  as  is 
shown  by  many  graffiti 4  scratched  on  the  stuccoed  walls. ,  At 
the  south  corner  of  the  domus  Tiberiana  is  a  large  oval  water 
tank,  or  piscina,  of  peculiar  construction,  which  probably  served 
to  contain  the  fish  until  they  were  needed  for  the  emperor's  table. 

Caligula  added5  a  wing  to  the  domus  Tiberiana  on  the  north, 
but  this  extended  no  farther  than  the  clivus  Victoriae,  and  the 
vast  masses  of  masonry  now  existing  at  this  corner  of  the  hill, 
and  sometimes  called  the  domus  Gaiana,  belong  to  a  much  later 
period,  —  the  second  and  third  centuries.  A  sunken  corridor 

!Tac.  Hist.  i.  27;  Suet.  Vit.15;  Otho,6;  Plat.  Galba,  24;  OIL.  vi.  8653- 
8655.  2  GA,  isss,  155;  Gilbert,  III.  178;  Jordan,  I.  3.  76-79. 

8  Gell.  xiii.  20,  1 ;  Vop.  Vit.  Probi,  2.  *  BC.  1894,  94-100. 

4  Suet.  Cal.  22. 


148  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

or  cryptoporticus,  about  140  metres  long,  led  from  the  wing  of 
Caligula  along  the  east  side  of  the  domus  Tiberiana  to  the 
house  of  Livia,  and  by  a  branch  to  the  domus  Augustana.  Its 
walls  were  covered  with  slabs  of  colored  marbles  ;  its  floor  was 
made  of  mosaic ;  while  the  ceiling  was  adorned  with  mosaic 
and  painting.  This  corridor  still  exists  in  a  state  of  partial 
preservation;  but  what  is  left  of  the  mosaic  and  marble  be- 
longs to  the  later  restorations  of  the  Antonines.  Light  was 
admitted  through  windows  in  the  vaulted  roof.  It  was  in  a 
corridor  like  this  that  Caligula  was  assassinated.1 

In  order  to  connect  his  own  residence  directly  with  the 
temple  of  Jupiter  on  the  Capitoline,2  Caligula  built  a '  foot- 
bridge across  the  intervening  valley,  making  use  of  the  temple 
of  Augustus  and  the  basilica  lulia  as  piers ;  but  this  ridiculous 
structure  was  removed  soon  after  the  emperor's  death.  Not- 
withstanding the  great  additions  and  restorations  made  by 
later  emperors,  all  that  part  of  the  palace  which  was  west  of 
the  area  Palatina  continued  to  be  called  the  domus  Tiberiana. 

Of  all  the  ruins  of  the  imperial  residence  now  visible  on 
the  Palatine,  almost  nothing3  but  some  foundations  and  sub- 
structures belong  to  the  ante-Flavian  epoch. 

The  great  fire  of  64  A.D.  destroyed  the  domus  Augustana, 
and  Vespasian  therefore  began  a  new  palace,  which  was  finished 
early  in  the  reign  of  Domitian.  It  extended  southeast  from 
the  podium  F  (Fig.  17),  covering  the  space  occupied  by  the 
earlier  palace  and  including  the  area  of  the  Hippodromus,  or 
palace-gardens.  The  distinctive  name,  domus  Plavia,  however, 
is  usually  limited  to  the  part  lying  west  of  the  villa  Mills. 
Between  the  domus  Flavia  and  the  Hippodromus,  the  ruins  of 
the  palace  are  buried  deep  beneath  the  gardens  of  the  villa  Mills, 
and  but  few  rooms  are  accessible  by  a  passage  from  the  gardens.4 

1  Dio  Cass.  lix.  29;  Suet.  Cal.  58. 

2  Suet.  Cal.  37;  Joseph.  Ant.  lud.  xix.  1,  11. 

8  Unless  the  domus  Liviae  be  the  first  domus  Augustana.    Cf.  p.  146. 
4  Excavations  on  this  site  are  to  be  continued. 


THE   PALATINE    HILL.  149 

That  Hadrian  restored  to  some  extent  the  imperial  residence 
is  shown  by  the  large  number  of  bricks  bearing  his  stamp, 
and,  in  particular,  he  added  the  great  exedra  to  the  Hippo- 
dromus ;  but  it  was  not  until  the  destructive  fire  of  191  A.D. 
that  repairs  on  a  large  scale  were  necessary.  They  were 
carried  out  by  Severus  and  Caracalla,  who  enlarged  the  domus 
Augustana  on  the  southeast  by  building  an. additional  wing  on 
enormous  substructures  and  by  erecting  the  Septizonium,  and 
extended  the  domus  Tiberiana  in  the  same  way  across  the 
clivus  Victoriae  to  the  Nova  via. 

The  Domus  Flavia.  —  The  palace  of  Domitian  1  was  built 
partly  on  a  rectangular  platform,  about  150  metres  in  length 
and  80  in  width,  extending  northeast  and  southwest  over  the 
depression  which  originally  divided  the  Cermalus  and  the 
Palatium.  The  private  houses  which  stood  here  were  partly 
destroyed  and  partly  used  as  supports  for  the  structure  above. 
One  such  dwelling  of  late  republican  or  early  imperial  date  is 
still  accessible  beneath  the  southwest  part  of  the  peristyle. 
The  concrete  walls  of  the  palace  foundations  cut  directly 
through  the  rooms  of  this  house.  Besides  its  walls  and  vaults, 
some  of  the  stucco  moldings  and  marble  floors  remain,  but  the 
colored  decoration  has  mostly  disappeared. 

Until  further  excavations  have  been  made,  it  will  be  impos- 
sible to  form  any  idea  of  the  character  or  use  of  the  subter- 
ranean passages  and  chambers  of  the  domus  Flavia,  and  as 
nothing  remains  of  the  second  story,  only  the  plan  of  the  first 
floor  is  known.  The  palace  faced  northeast,  and  in  front  of 
the  faqade  was  a  porticus  formed  by  twenty-two  columns  of 
cipollino,  standing  on  the  edge  of  the  lofty  podium.2  This 


1QA.  1888,  143-163,  211-224,  pi.  21,  22,  23,  30;  Mitt.  1895,  252-276;  Jordan, 
I.  3.  86-94. 

2  For  references  to  the  magnificence  of  this  palace,  see  Martial,  i.  70;  vii. 
56;  viii.  36,  39,  60;  ix.  13,  79;  xii.  15;  Stat.  Silv.  i.  1.  24;  iv.  2.  18-25;  Pint. 
Popl.  15. 


150  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

porticus  also  extended  a  considerable  distance  toward  the 
south  along  each  side.  The  northern  part  of  the  palace  was 
divided  into  three  rooms,  a  large  aula  regia,  or  throne  room, 
in  the  centre,  and  a  smaller  one  on  each  side.  This  throne 
room  was  47.3  by  35.5  metres,  and  on  each  side  were  three 
niches  containing  colossal  statues  of  basalt.  Between  these 
niches,  and  also  at  the  ends,  were  sixteen  columns  of  pavonaz- 
zetto,  8  metres  in  height.  The  main  entrance  was  flanked  by 
two  columns  of  giallo  antico,  the  bases  and  capitals  of  which 
were  of  ivory-colored  marble,  and  the  entablature  of  white 
marble.  Opposite  the  main  entrance  was  the  apse,  in  which 
stood  the  throne,  arid  on  each  side  of  it,  as  well  as  on  each 
side  of  the  entrance,  were  other  niches.  The  walls  were 
covered  with  colored  marbles,  the  coffered  ceiling  was  gilded, 
and  the  floor  was  paved  with  rich  mosaic ;  but  of  all  this  mag- 
nificent decoration  only  insignificant  fragments  remain.  This 
is  true  of  the  whole  palace. 

The  room  to  the  west  of  the  throne  room,  about  35  by  20 
metres,  is  called  the  basilica,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been 
the  apartment  where  the  emperor  dispensed  justice.  It  ter- 
minates at  the  south  end  in  an  apse,  within  which  there  are 
traces  of  a  suggestus,  or  tribunal.  Along  each  side  of  the  hall 
was  a  row  of  six  Corinthian  columns  of  marble,  which  sup- 
ported a  narrow  gallery  and  formed  aisles.  The  original  roof 
of  this  hall  was  of  timber,  but  at  some  later  period  the  side  walls 
were  strengthened  by  massive  supporting  pillars,  and  a  vaulted 
roof  of  concrete  constructed.  It  is  probable  that  there  were 
gilt  screens  between  the  columns,  which  separated  the  central 
space  from  that  under  the  galleries. 

The  room  on  the  east  of  the  throne  room  is  the  smallest  of 
the  three,  and  in  it,  built  against  the  rear  wall  and  approached 
by  two  flights  of  steps,  an  altar l  was  found  in  the  last  century, 


1  Bianchini,  Del  Palazzo  del  Cesari,  252.    This  altar  is  not  to  be  confused 
with  the  stone  needle,  p.  140. 


152  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

which  lias  since  disappeared.  Because  of  this  altar,  the  name 
lararium  was  given  to  the  apartment,  although  there  is  no 
further  evidence  to  connect  it  with  the  worship  of  the  emperor. 
South  of  the  lararium  are  two  small  chambers  and  two  stair- 
ways. One  of  these  stairways  leads  to  the  upper  floor,  and  the 
other  to  a  cellar  in  the  unexcavated  part  of  the  palace  beneath 
the  villa  Mills. 

The  central  open  court,  or  peristyle,  was  surrounded  by  a 
colonnade,  of  which  the  columns  themselves  were  of  Porta  santa, 
and  the  Corinthian  capitals  and  bases  of  white  marble.  Over 
this  colonnade  was  probably l  an  open  gallery,  with  columns  of 
granite  and  porphyry.  A  large  part  of  the  inner  walls  of  the 
corridor  was  covered  with  slabs  of  phengite  marble,2  which, 
when  polished,  reflected  the  image  of  the  passer-by.  The  rest 
of  the  side  walls  and  the  pavement  were  made  of  the  most 
magnificent  colored  marbles  and  porphyry,  of  which  nothing 
remains  but  a  few  fragments. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  peristyle  is  a  series  of  nine  apart- 
ments, of  which  the  central  room,  octagonal  in  shape,  seems 
to  have  been  an  entrance  hall  or  vestibule.  The  other  smaller 
chambers  were  probably  used  for  anterooms  for  footmen,  and 
for  cloakrooms.  As  the  eastern  portion  of  the  peristyle  and 
that  part  of  the  palace  which  lies  beyond  have  not  yet  been 
excavated,  it  is  impossible  to  say  with  certainty  whether  or 
not  the  rooms  on  the  east  of  the  peristyle  correspond  exactly 
with  those  on  the  west. 

South  of  the  peristyle  is  another  large  and  imposing  apart- 
ment, which  may  have  served  as  a  state  dining-room,  commonly 
called  the  triclinium  or  cenatio  Iovis.s  This  room  terminates  at 
the  south  end  in  an  apse,  where  perhaps  the  emperor's  table 
was  set.  From  the  evidence  of  the  fragments  which  have  been 
found,  it  is  probable  that  this  room  was  flanked  by  two  rows 
of  six  or  eight  granite  columns,  and  its  decoration  was,  if 

1  The  restoration  (Fig.  20)  shows  no  such  gallery.  2  Suet.  Dom.  14. 

8  Jul.  Capit.  Vit.  Pertin.  11,  but  this  identification  is  arbitrary. 


THE   PALATINE   HILL.  153 

possible,  more  magnificent  than  that  of  the  peristyle.  Some 
of  the  marble  pavement  of  the  apse  is  still  in  place,  but  it  is  of 
inferior  workmanship  and  dates  from  a  late  restoration.  On 
each  side  of  the  triclinium  is  a  nymphaeum,  or  fountain-room. 
That  on  the  east,  although  explored  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
is  now  hidden  beneath  the  villa  Mills,  and  it  corresponds  to 
that  on  the  other  side.  In  this  room  is  a  large  oval  core  of 
concrete,  which  was  entirely  covered  with  alabaster.  In  its 
sides  were  niches  containing  statues,  and  from  its  top  streams 
of  water  gushed  out  of  pipes  and  flowed  in  miniature  cas- 
cades into  the  surrounding  channel.  Flowers  and  statues  were 
placed  here  and  there  between  the  streams  of  water  and 
around  the  room,  and  probably  caged  birds  also.  The  thick 
wall  between  this  room  and  the  triclinium  was  pierced  with 
five  large  openings. 

South  of  the  triclinium  are  two  rooms  (Y,  Fig.  17),  side  by 
side  and  curved  into  hemicycles  on  the  east,  with  an  orienta- 
tion differing  from  that  of  the  palace,  and  corresponding  with 
that  of  the  podium  F,  with  which  they  may  have  been  con- 
nected before  the  building  of  the  palace.  They  are  commonly 
called  the  bibliotheca  and  the  academia,  names  suggested  by 
their  shape.  In  the  bibliotheca,  which  is  nearest  to  the  pal- 
ace, nothing  remains  but  some  bits  of  pavement ;  in  the  other, 
the  academia,  there  are  rows  of  seats  at  the  curved  end,  and 
above  them  niches  for  statues,  and  between  the  two  rooms  are 
portions  of  marble  pavement.  The  six  columns  now  standing 
were  arbitrarily  set  up  by  Rosa  in  recent  years. 

The  platform,  or  first  floor  of  the  palace,  rests  at  this  south 
end  upon  substructures,  which  appear  to  be  partly  earlier  build- 
ings and  partly  walls  erected  for  the  purpose,  and  it  is  certain 
that  there  were  many  apartments  on  this  lower  level.  Some 
of  them  were  discovered  and  stripped  of  their  decorations  in 
the  last  century,  but  at  present  they  are  almost  entirely  inac- 
cessible. Some  remains  of  republican  masonry  may  still  be 
seen. 


154  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

The  larger  part  of  the  Flavian  palace  still  lies  buried  be- 
neath the  villa  Mills.1  Excavations  were  made  here  in  1775 
by  Guattani,  and  from  the  plans  and  drawings  which  he  has 
left,  together  with  the  little  which  is  now  accessible,  the  gen- 
eral plan  of  the  southern  portion  can  be  made  out.  The  front 
wall,  which  is  exposed,  is  curved,  and  forms  a  species  of  exe- 
dra  from  which  the  sports  in  the  circus  could  be  viewed.  This 
exedra,  however,  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  Pulvinar  ad  Oircum 
Maximum  (p.  405)  built  by  Augustus.  Access  to  the  ruins  of 
this  part  of  the  palace  is  by  an  entrance  from  the  Hippodromus, 
where  a  flight  of  steps  which  led  to  the  upper  gallery  has  been 
broken  away.  All  that  can  now  be  seen  is  a  few  standing  walls 
and  the  three  rooms  north  of  the  peristyle.  Its  general  plan  is 
that  of  a  central  court,  with  the  main  entrance  on  the  south. 
This  court  was  surrounded  with  a  colonnade  of  fifty-six  fluted 
Ionic  columns  of  white  marble,  supporting  a  gallery  with  an- 
other colonnade  of  Corinthian  columns.  From  all  sides  of  the 
peristyle  opened  apartments  of  various  shapes  and  sizes,  of 
which  the  three  (x,  y,  z,  Fig.  17)  on  the  north  have  been 
excavated.  The  two  outer  rooms  are  octagonal  in  shape,  and 
all  three  had  domed  ceilings  and  received  light  from  above. 
There  were  niches  in  all  these  rooms  for  statues,  and  the 
decoration  corresponded  in  beauty  with  that  of  the  rest  of 
the  palace.  Many  architectural  fragments  have  been  found 
here,  as  well  as  some  famous  works  of  art. 

Adjoining  the  domus  Augustana  on  the  southeast,  and  with 
the  same  orientation,  is  the  Hippodromus 2  which  has  usually, 
though  erroneously,  been  called  the  Stadium  of  Domitian.  It 
is  a  large  open  space,  160  metres  long  and  50  wide,  inclosed 
by  a  wall  and  nearly  rectangular  in  shape,  except  at  the  south 


.  1889,  185-187;  Jordan,  FUR.  144,  163. 
2  GA.  1888,  216-224;  Melanges,  1889,  184-229;  Jahrbuch  des  Instituts,  1895, 
129-143 ;  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  v.  16-83,  pi.  i-iv ;  Mitt.  1894, 16-17 ;  1895,  276-283 ;  NS. 
1877,  79-80,  109-110,  201-204 ;  1878, 66,  93,  346 ;  1893,  31-32,  70, 117-118, 162-163, 
358-360,  419 ;  Sturm,  Das  Kaiserl.  Stadium,  1888 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  94-96. 


THE   PALATINE    HILL.  155 

end,  where  there  is  a  slight  curve.  Within  the  wall  and  sur- 
rounding the  entire  central  area,  except  at  the  north  end,  was  a 
porticus,  formed  by  a  row  of  pillars  of  brick-faced  concrete 
with  engaged  half-columns.  Pilasters  projected  from  the  in- 
side of  the  wall  directly  opposite  each  pillar,  and  arches,  rest- 
ing on  these  pilasters  and  pillars,  supported  an  upper  gallery, 
which  also  surrounded  the  entire  court.  Columns  and  pilasters 
were  covered  with  slabs  of  Porta  santa  marble,  with  bases  and 
capitals  of  white  marble.  In  the  middle  of  the  east  side  is  an 
enormous  exedra  with  two  stories.  Its  lower  floor,  which  is 
on  a  level  with  the  central  area,  contained  three  rooms,  a  large 
central  hall,  and  two  small  chambers  on  either  side,  one  of 
which  appears  not  to  have  been  finished.  In  the  other  the 
mosaic  floor  is  still  in  existence.  The  second  floor  had  only 
one  room,  semicircular  in  shape,  with  a  domed  ceiling.  The 
front  of  this  imperial  box  was  decorated  with  a  colonnade  of 
granite,  and  the  back  with  one  of  pavonazzetto,  as  is  shown  by 
the  mimerous  fragments  which  remain. 

At  the  north  end  of  the  Hippodromus,  is  a  row  of  five  small 
chambers  with  coffered  ceilings,  which  originally  supported  a 
balcony,  before  the  erection  of  the  wall  with  three  openings 
that  continued  the  colonnade  on  this  side.  At  each  end  of 
the  longitudinal  axis  of  the  central  area,  which  was  not  paved, 
is  a  semicircular  piscina  or  fountain-basin,  and  on  a  line  be- 
tween the  basins  stand  the  pedestals  of  statues.  Lead  pipes, 
stamped  with  the  name  of  Domitian,  brought  water  into  this 
area  at  its  northeast  corner,  about  60  centimetres  above  its 
present  level,  and  a  stone  water-channel  encircles  the  whole 
area,  parallel  to  the  porticus. 

This  Hippodromus  was  the  garden  of  the  Flavian  palace, 
and  consisted  at  first  of  the  central  area  surrounded  by  a  wall, 
into  which  one  could  look  from  the  windows  of  the  palace. 
Later  emperors  made  various  changes,  and  it  is  probable  that 
Hadrian  built  the  great  exedra,  and  Severus  the  porticus,  which 
may  have  served  to  support  hanging  gardens.  These  changes 


156  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT  ROME. 

were  the  natural  result  of  the  additions  to  the  palace,  made 
by  these  emperors,  which  shut  off  the  view  to  the  east  and 
south.  Although  only  fragments  of  the  decoration  remain,  the 
appearance  of  the  Hippodromus  must  have  been  remarkably 
beautiful,  on  account  of  the  combination  of  brilliant  marbles 
and  mosaics  with  flowers  and  plants  of  all  descriptions. 

At  a  much  later  period,  perhaps  as  late  as  Theodoric,  still 
further  changes  were  made.  Another  porticus  was  built  across 
the  Hippodromus  from  the  north  end  of  the  exedra,  and  a  wall 
parallel  to  this  porticus,  from  the  south  end  of  the  exedra, 
thus  dividing  the  whole  area  into  three  parts.  Within  the 
southern  division  an  elliptical  inclosure  was  erected,  the  walls 
of  which  were  tangent  to  the  cross-wall  and  the  colonnade.  The 
masonry  of  this  inclosure  is  of  the  latest  period,  and  the  walls, 
although  the  remains  are  a  metre  high,  have  no  solid  founda- 
tions, but  rest  on  the  debris  of  the  area.  This  elliptical  wall 
was  strengthened  at  certain  points  by  spur  walls  extending  to 
the  colonnade.  The  only  entrance  to  the  inclosure  was  at  the 
south  end,  where  two  pedestals  from  the  house  of  the  Vestals 
were  built  into  the  doorway.  Openings,  somewhat  over  a  metre 
in  width,  were  made  in  the  wall  itself  at  regular  intervals,  and 
within  one  of  these  openings  is  a  basin  or  trough  with  two  com- 
partments. It  is  altogether  probable  that  this  inclosure  was  a 
vivarium,  built  to  contain  wild  animals,  a  sort  of  private 
menagerie  of  the  emperors. 

In  connection  with  the  Flavian  palace,  there  was  also  an 
av\r)  'ASwnSos,1  which  has  erroneously  been  identified  with  the 
edifice  or  space  marked  AD(XN"AEA2on  the  Capitoline  Plan. 
The  extent  of  this  Adonaea  (apparently  at  least  110  by  90 
metres)  is  so  great  that  it  seems  impossible  to  find  room  for 
it  on  the  Palatine  except  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  con- 


iPhilostr.  Vit.  Apoll.  Tyan.  vii.  32;  Richter,  Top?  155-156;  Mitt.  1890,  77; 
1896,  206. 

2 Jordan,  FUR.  44;  SO.  1910,  13. 


THE   PALATINE    HILL.  157 

vent  and  gardens  of  S.  Sebastiano,  where  it  may  well  have 
been  if  the  temple  of  Apollo  (p.  146)  belongs  on  the  southwest 
part  of  the  hill.  The  av\rj  was  probably  a  room  in  the  palace, 
or  perhaps  a  conservatory.  » 

The  south  front  of  the  Hippodromus,  which  dates  from  the 
time  of  Severus,  seems  to  have  contained  several  apartments 
on  two  floors,  the  purpose  of  the  whole  being  apparently  to 
afford  a  view  over  the  Circus  Maximus  and  the  Campagna. 

The  style  and  material  of  the  masonry  show  that  Hadrian 
made  restorations  at  some  points  in  thedomus  Augustana,  and 
in  particular  added  extensive  baths  to  the  palace,  to  which 
belong  the  coffered  hall  and  rooms  with  hypocausts  just  east 
and  southeast  of  the  exedra.  It  is  almost  impossible,  however, 
to  separate  with  certainty  the  work  of  Hadrian  and  that  of 
Severus,  who  completed  the  palace  in  this  direction.  It  is 
evident  that  much  the  greater  part  belongs  to  the  latter  emperor. 
As  the  slope  of  the  hill  began  just  east  of  Hadrian's  addition, 
it  was  necessary  for  Severus,1  when  he  wished  to  extend  the 
palace  in  this  direction,  to  build  out  an  artificial  platform  by 
means  of  a  series  of  enormous  arches  and  substructures.  On 
this  platform  the  new  part  of  the  palace  proper  rose.  These 
arched  substructures  extend  to  some  distance  from  the  edge  of 
the  hill,  and  at  their  extremity  the  platform  is  from  23  to  24.5 
metres  above  the  valley  beneath.  They  are  still  among  the 
most  imposing  ruins  of  Rome.  Of  the  palace  itself  almost 
nothing  remains,  but  the  substructures  are  very  complicated  in 
their  arrangement  of  arches,  cisterns,  and  apartments  of  various 
sizes,  the  use  of  which  cannot  be  made  out. 

At  the  extreme  southeast  corner  of  the  hill,  Severus  con- 
structed an  edifice,  called  the  Septizonium,  —  ut  ex  Africa  ve'ni- 
entibus  suum  opus  occurreret.2  This  structure  stood  about  100 

i  Jordan,  I.  3.  98-100. 

2Spart.  Vit.  Sev.  24  (21);  Jordan,  FUR.  38;  OIL.  vi.  1032;  Hiilsen,  Das 
Septizonium,  Berlin,  1886;  BC.  1888,  269-278;  Mitt.  1889,  258-259 ;  1910,56-73; 
Jordan,  I.  3. 100-102;  Durm,  Baukunst  der  R&mer,  2d  ed.,  469-474.  „ 


158  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

metres  east  of  the  end  of  the  existing  lofty  platform  of  the 
palace,  and  some  remains  of  its  north  end  are  beneath  the  level 
of  the  modern  via  di  S.  Gregorio.  The  building  was  nothing 
more  than  a  decorative  facade,  about  100  metres  long,  31  high, 
and  17  deep,  the  back  of  which  was  a  plain  wall.  In  this 
facade  were  three  great  niches,  flanked  by  projecting  towers, 
and  it  appeared  to  be  built  in  three  stories,  each  of  which  was 
ornamented  with  columns  of  marble,  porphyry,  and  granite. 
We  are  told  that  Severus  intended  that  the  central  niche  of  the 
Septizonium  should  be  the  principal  entrance  to  the  Palatium, 
but  that  during  the  absence  of  the  emperor  the  prefect  of  the 
city  set  up  a  colossal  statue  of  his  master  at  this  very  point. 
Whatever  may  be  the  value  of  this  story,  it  is  quite  possible 
that  changes  in  the  original  plan  of  the  building  were  intro- 
duced during  its  construction.  It  seems  certain  that  it  served 
no  purpose  except  to  form  a  magnificent  architectural  member 
to  complete  the  palace  of  Severus. 

No  thoroughly  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  name  Septizo- 
nium has  been  found.  The  edifice  was  not  seven  stories  in 
height,  and  the  septem  zonae  may  refer  to  the  seven  bands 
formed  by  the  stylobate,  the  three  colonnades,  and  the  three 
entablatures.1  A  recent  suggestion  is  that  Septizonium  is  a 
corruption  of  Septizodium,2  the  house  of  the  seven  planets. 
The  main  axis  of  the  Septizonium  did  not  correspond  with 
that  of  the  Palatium  or  of  the  Circus  Maximus,  but  was  per- 
pendicular to  the  line  of  the  via  Appia,  which  began  directly 
in  front  of  the  central  niche.  Very  considerable  portions  of 
this  structure  were  standing  at  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, but  they  were  then  torn  down,  and  the  material  employed 
elsewhere. 

Directly  below  the  southwest  end  of  the  domus  Flavia,  about 
halfway  up  the  slope  of  the  hill,  are  remains  of  a  building,  con- 

1  Archivf.  Lat.  Lexikographie,  1892,  272. 

2  Maass,  Die  Tagesgotter  in  Rom  und  den  Provinzen,  Berlin,  1902,  10&-117 ; 
OIL.  viiL  14372.    Cf.  Mitt.  1910,  68-73. 


THE   PALATINE   HILL.  159 

sisting  of  a  number  of  small  chambers  opening  from  the  north 
side  of  a  peristyle.  The  walls  of  these  chambers  were  lined 
with  marble  and  stucco,  and  round  the  peristyle  ran  a  porticus 
supported  by  Corinthian  columns  of  granite,  one  of  which  is  in 
situ.  While  much  of  the  construction  is  of  later  date,  the  origi- 
nal building  was  probably  in  existence  when  Domitian's  palace 
was  erected.  The  present  porticus  is  entirely  a  modern  resto- 
ration. Numerous  graffiti1  have  been  found,  incised  in  the 
stucco  of  the  chambers,  which  have  been  supposed  to  prove 
that  the  building  was  used  as  a  Paedagogitun,  or  training  school 
for  the  pages  of  the  imperial  household,2  but  this  is  somewhat 
doubtful. 

In  front  of  this  Paedagogium,  at  a  lower  level  and  with  a 
slightly  different  orientation,  are  the  ruins  of  a  private  house, 
consisting  of  an  atrium,  a  tablinum,  and  a  triclinium.3  This 
house  is  on  the  same  level  as  the  Circus  Maximus,  and  close 
to  it.  It  has  been  identified  with  a  domus  Gelotiana,4  which  was 
incorporated  into  the  palace  by  Caligula,  but  the  evidence  for 
this  identification  is  inconclusive. 

The  Additions  to  the  Domus  Tiberiana.  —  As  has  been  stated 
above,  the  additions  made  to  the  domus  Tiberiana  by  Caligula 
did  not  extend  beyond  the  later  clivus  Victoriae,  and  by  far 
the  greater  part  of  the  enormous  mass  of  masonry  at  this  corner 
of  the  Palatine  belongs  to  the  later  building  of  the  Antonines, 
especially  Severus  and  Caracalla.  These  emperors  adopted  the 
same  method  of  increasing  the  available  area  here  as  at  the  op- 
posite corner  of  the  hill.  From  the  line  of  the  Nova  via  great 
arched  substructures  rose  to  the  height  of  the  hill  itself,  and 
on  the  platform  which  they  supported  the  additions  to  the 

i  BC.  1893,  248-260;  1894,  89-94. 

*Bull.  Crist.  1863,  72;  1867,  75;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1882,  191-220;  Jordan,  I.  3, 
91-93;  Hillsen,  Das  sogenannte  Paedagogium  auf  dem  Palatin.  Melanges 
Boissier,  Paris,  1903. 

«  NS.  1892,  44 ;  Mitt.  1893,  289-292.  *  Suet.  Col.  18 ;  OIL.  vi.  8663. 


160 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


palace  were  erected.  The  height  of  the  perpendicular  from 
the  pavement  of  the  Nova  via  to  the  summit  of  the  hill  is 
about  25  metres,  so  that  the  fagade  of  the  palace  on  the  side 
toward  the  Forum  was  remarkably  imposing.  These  substruc- 
tures were  filled  with  story  above  story  of  apartments,  devoted 


FIG.  21.  —  NORTHWEST  CORNER  OF  THE  PALATINE. 

partly  to  the  use  of  palace  attendants  of  all  grades,  and  partly, 
along  the  Nova  via  and  the  clivus,  to  shops.  This  complicated 
mass  of  masonry,  of  concrete  faced  with  tufa  and  brick,  com- 
prises the  remnants  of  the  original  structure  of  Caligula,  and 
the  restorations  and  additions  of  the  two  centuries  following, 
which  in  some  parts  have  a  different  orientation. 

Three  main  tiers  of  apartments  can  be  distinguished,  the 
lowest  opening  on  the  Nova  via,  which  appear  to  have  been 
shops ;  those  of  the  story  above  opening  on  the  clivus  Victoriae, 
perhaps  shops  also ;  and  finally  those  at  the  top  of  the  hill. 
Of  the  palace  proper  which  towered  above  the  platform,  noth- 
ing remains.  Vestiges  of  elaborate  wall-decorations,  marble  lin- 


THE   PALATINE   HILL.  161 

ings,  and  mosaic  pavements  may  still  be  seen  in  some  of  the 
chambers  and  passages  of  the  substructures,  and  a  part  of  a 
gallery  above  the  clivus  Victoriae.  Flights  of  steps  connected 
the  different  stories,  of  which  the  longest,  in  a  good  state  of 
preservation,  leads  from  the  clivus  Victoriae  to  the  top  of  the 
hill. 

Direct  access  from  the  Forum  to  this  part  of  the  palace  was 
.afforded  by  a  flight  of  steps  (p.  134)  that  led  up  between  the 
temples  of  Vesta  and  Castor  to  the  north  corner  of  the  hill, 
and  by  another  flight  that  led  to  the  same  place  from  a  point  a 
little  farther  east  on  the  Nova  via.  Another  way  of  approach 
was  by  a  passage,  paved  with  opus  spicatum,  or  herring-bone 
brick,1  which  ascended  in  a  zigzag  course  from  behind  the  tem- 
ple of  Castor  along  the  east  side  of  the  bibliotheca  divi  Augusti, 
until  it  joined  the  first  of  these  flights  of  steps  and  the  clivus 
Victoriae  (p.  163). 

The  Temple  and  Library  of  Augustus.  — Tiberius  commenced 
and  Caligula  completed  the  erection  of  a  temple  of  Augustus,2 
in  which  were  placed  the  statues  of  Augustus,  Livia,  Claudius, 
and  probably  of  the  later  emperors  and  empresses  who  were 
deified.  The  temple  was  therefore  called  by  various  names,  — 
templum  divi  Augusti,3  divi  Augusti  et  divae  Augustae,4  tern- 
plum  novum,5  templum  novum  in  Palatio,  etc.,  and  it  is  alto- 
gether probable  that  aedes  Caesarum6  and  templum  divorum 
in  Palatio7  refer  to  the  same  building.  It  was  burned  in  the 
reign  of  Vespasian  or  Domitian,8  and  rebuilt  by  the  latter,  after 
which  time  it  was  still  spoken  of  as  the  templum  novum tf  or 


.  1900,  74;  1903,  167-170;  Mitt.  1902,  74;  Hulsen-Carter,  177. 
2  Suet.  Tib.  47;  CaL  21;  Dio  Cass.  Ivi.  46;  PI.  NH.  xii.  94;  Tac.  Ann.  vi. 
45;  Gilbert,  HI.  121-123, 131-133;  Jordan,  I.  3.  79-86;  Lanciani,  Ruins,  122-125. 
8  Suet.  Cal.  22.  6  Suet.  Tib.  74. 

<  CIL.  vi.  4222.  6  Suet.  Galba,  1. 

i  CIL.  vi.  2087,  2104;  cf.,  however,  Hiilsen  in  Jordan,  I.  3.  81-82. 
8  PL  NH.  xii.  94.  »  Mart.  iv.  53. 


162  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

tern  plum  divi  August!  ad  Minervam.1  Coins2  of  Antoninus 
Pius  indicate  a  restoration  during  his  reign. 

Tiberius  also  erected  a  library3  (bibliotheca  templi  divi 
August!)  in  connection  with 4  the  temple,  which  was  probably 
injured  in  the  fire  which  destroyed  the  temple,  for  the  books 
appear  to  have  been  removed  by  Domitian  and  replaced  by 
Trajan.4  This  library  may  possibly  be  the  same  as  that  which 
was  afterwards  called  the  bibliotheca  domus  Tiberianae 5  (see 
p.  147). 

The  position  of  this  temple  is  defined  by  the  statement  that 
Caligula  united  the  Capitoline  and  the  Palatine  by  a  bridge,  — 
super  templum  divi  Augusti  transmisso,6  —  and  it  has  been  gen- 
erally identified  with  the  building  the  ruins  of  which,  belong- 
ing to  the  period  of  Domitian  and  partly  known  before,  have 
been  recently  uncovered  by  the  removal  of  the  church  of  S. 
Maria  Liberatrice.  This  structure7  filled  the  space  between 
the  temple  of  Castor,  the  vicus  Tuscus,  and  the  clivus  Victoriae, 
at  a  height  of  about  12  metres  above  the  level  of  the  Forum 
pavement  (Fig.  40).  The  main  facade  was  toward  the  vicus 
Tuscus,  and  the  axis  of  the  building  was  perpendicular  to  that 
street. 

The  front  part  of  the  building  consists  of  a  vestibule,  32 
metres  wide  and  6  deep,  which  formed  the  f  aqade,  and  of  a  very 
large  rectangular  hall  behind  it.  The  roof  of  the  vestibule  was 
lower  than  that  of  the  main  hall,  and  seems  to  have  had  no 
supports  originally  except  at  the  ends.  At  a  later  period  six 
short  cross-walls  (a'a',  Fig.  40)  were  built  in  the  vestibule.  At 
each  end  was  a  colossal  semicircular  niche.  The  remains  of 
the  front  wall  of  the  structure  are  too  scanty  to  afford  any  in- 


i  OIL.  iii.  pp.  859,  861.  2  Cohen,  Ant.  797-810. 

»  Suet.  Tib.  74. 

4  Mart.  xii.  3  (in  Friedlander's  ed.).       «Gell.  xiii.  20;  Vop.  Vit.  Prob.  2. 
6  Suet.  Cat.  22. 

''Mitt.  1902,  74-82;  1905,  82-83;  PBS.  I.  19-25;  OR.  1901,  329;  1902,  95,  284; 
BC.  1903,  199-204,  230-236;  Hulsen-Carter,  161-179. 


THE   PALATINE    HILL.  163 

dication  as  to  the  number  of  doorways  between  the  vestibule 
and  the  main  hall.  This  hall  was  32  metres  wide  and  about 
25  deep,  and  in  its  walls  were  rectangular  and  semicircular 
niches,  arranged  alternately,  in  which  the  statues  of  the  deified 
persons  were  placed.  Above  the  niches  towered  the  lofty  wall 
of  brick,  with  several  rows  of  sham  relieving  arches,  and 
sheathed  with  marble.  Its  upper  part  was  pierced  with  win- 
dows, and  the  roof  was  probably  of  timber. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  building,  toward  the  temple  of 
Castor,  was  a  portions  of  brick  piers  (&'&',  Fig.  40)  with  en- 
gaged columns  on  their  outer  face,  which  formed  a  sort  of 
second  faqade.  From  this  portions  one  entrance  led  into  the 
great  hall  just  described,  and  another,  farther  east,  into  that 
part  of  the  building  which  was  behind  the  temple  proper. 
This  part  consists  of  a  large  rectangular  hall  (H),  behind  it  a 
sort  of  peristyle  (P)  or  quadriporticus,  and  back  of  that  a 
series  of  three  rooms  opening  into  the  peristyle.  The  first 
hall  is  about  21  metres  deep  by  20  wide,  and  its  walls  contain 
niches,  alternately  square  and  semicircular.  Doors  opened 
from  this  hall  into  the  main  building,  and  on  the  opposite  side 
into  a  very  lofty  passage  (A),  from  3  to  4  metres  wide  (see  p. 
161),  which  ascends  gradually,  with  four  turns,  to  the  clivus 
Victoriae.  The  second  hall,  or  peristyle,  was  divided  by  four 
brick  piers,  with  columns  between  them,  into  a  central  part 
and  aisles.  It  is  uncertain  whether  the  central  space  was 
originally  roofed  over  or  not.  Doorways  opened  from  the 
aisles  into  the  temple  proper  and  into  the  ascending  corridor. 
At  the  south  end  of  this  peristyle  were  three  rectangular 
rooms,  the  central  one  being  the  largest,  8.5  by  7  metres,  and 
the  others  smaller,  4.5  by  7,  and  4.5  by  5.  The  south  wall  is 
built  at  an  angle  with  the  aiis  of  the  temple,  and  perpendicular 
to  the  line  of  the  clivus  Victoriae.  It  was  perfectly  solid,  so 
as  to  cut  off  the  building  entirely  from  the  hill  on  the  south 
and  southeast.  There  is  little  doubt  that  this  eastern  portion 
of  the  structure  is  the  bibliotheca  attached  to  the  temple,  al- 


164  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

though  this  so-called  temple  itself  is  far  from  conforming  to 
the  normal  type. 

Beneath  the  bibliotheca  are  the  remains  of  a  very  large 
piscina  (1?),  9  metres  wide  and  25  metres  long,  built  of  brick 
with  steps  at  each  end  and  niches  in  the  sides,  which  dates 
from  the  time  of  Caligula,  and  seems  to  have  belonged  to  the 
buildings  by  which  he  connected  the  Palatine  and  Capitoline. 
It  is  oriented  according  to  the  line  of  the  clivus  Victoriae  and 
infima  Nova  via.  Other  fragments  of  an  earlier  structure 
with  the  same  orientation  have  been  found  beneath  the  tem- 
ple proper,  which  may  have  belonged  to  the  first  temple  of 
Caligula. 

The  original  Nova  via1  ran  along  the  north  slope  of  the 
Palatine,  but  probably  farther  north  than  the  existing  line. 
At  the  northwest  corner  of  the  hill  it  probably  turned  toward 
the  south  and  joined  the  vicus  Tuscus  at  some  point  not  far 
from  this  corner.  The  erection  of  the  temple  of  Augustus 
must  have  changed  the  conditions  essentially,  and  the  course 
of  the  Nova  via  is  now  exceedingly  doubtful.  The  existing 
pavement 2  of  this  street  lies  along  the  south  side  of  the  atrium 
Vestae,  but  is  blocked  completely 3  at  the  corner  of  the  hill  by 
a  hall  (p,  Fig.  40 ;  cf .  p.  219)  in  front  of  the  bibliotheca.  Dur- 
ing the  imperial  period,  therefore,  it  appears  that  the  Nova 
via  had  no  connection  with  the  temple  of  Castor  or  the  vicus 
Tuscus,  except  through  the  Forum  or  the  clivus  Victoriae. 

During  the  Byzantine  period  the  library  of  the  temple  of 
Augustus  was  converted  into  the  church  of  S.  Maria  Antiqua,4 
and  various  changes  were  made  in  the  original  structure,  such 
as  the  substitution  of  granite  columns  for  the  brick  piers  in 

iCic.  de  Div.  i.  101;  ii.  69;  Varro,  LL.  v.  43,  164;  vi.  59;  Ov.  Fast.  vi. 
396;  Liv.  i.  41;  v.  32;  Gilbert,  II.  114-117;  III.  422-423;  Hermes,  1885, 
428-429;  Pais,  Ancient  Legends,  272-273. 

*NS.  1882,  234-238,  413;  1884,  191;   CR.  1905,  76. 

8J/itt.  1902,  73-74. 

*PBS.  1. 1-119  (S.  Maria  Antiqua) ;  Mitt.  1902,  82-86;  1905,  84-94;  BC.  1900, 
299-320;  1903,204-230;  Hiilsen-Carter,  168-177. 


THE   PALATINE   HILL.  165 

the  peristyle,  the  cutting  of  doors  through  the  niches  between 
the  hall  and  peristyle,  and  the  construction  of  a  sort  of  choir 
in  the  central  portion.  The  walls  of  the  church  were  covered 
with  frescoes,  which  have  been  brought  to  light  by  the  recent 
excavations. 

On  the  southwest  side  of  the  temple  of  Augustus  these 
excavations l  have  also  disclosed  a  series  of  chambers  which 
are  bui^t  against  the  side  of  the  hill,  and  rise  to  the  level  of 
the  clivus  Victoriae.  The  lower  rooms  are  of  opus  quadratum, 
and  the  upper  of  brickwork,  and  in  front  of  them  is  a  trape- 
zoidal court  surrounded  by  similar  rectangular  rooms.  These 
remains  form  one  structure  and  belong  to  the  buildings  repre- 
sented on  the  Capitoline  Plan  as  standing  here,  which  appear 
to  be  horrea,  possibly  the  horrea  Germaniciana  of  the  Notitia? 

The  space  bounded  on  the  west  and  south  by  the  domus 
Tiberiana  and  the  domus  Augustana,  of  somewhat  indefinite 
extent  and  use,  was  called  the  area  Palatina  (Fig.  19) .3  The 
principal  approach  to  it  was  by  a  street  which  led  up  from  the 
summa  Sacra  via  through  the  porta  Mugonia.  This  street  is 
now  usually  called  the  clivns  Palatinus,  but  there  is  no  ancient 
authority  for  this  name.  Some  believe  that  the  term  Sacer 
clivus  (p.  312)  was  applied  to  this  street  as  well  as  to  part  of  the 
Sacra  via,  and  it  has  also  been  identified  with  the  vicus  Apollinis 
of  the  Capitoline  Base. 

South  of  the  Nova  via  are  traces  of  pavements  at  two  levels, 
the  earlier  dating  probably  from  the  beginning  of  the  empire 
and  the  later  from  the  period  after  the  fire  of  Nero.  The 
later  street  was  wider  and  straighter  than  the  earlier,  and  was 
flanked  on  the  west  by  structures  built  against  the  slope  of  the 
hill  that  appear  to  have  been  shops.  Considerable  portions  of 
their  walls  have  recently  been  excavated.4 

1  CR.  1903,  329;  1904,  139,  331 ;  Mitt.  1905,  84. 

2  Reg.  viii.    Cf.,  however,  p.  419.  «Gell.  xx.  1,  1 ;  Mitt.  1890,  77. 
*CR.  1903,  136;  1905,  237;  1909,  61;  Mitt.  1905,  119;  BC.  1903,  17;  Berl. 

Phil.  Wochenschrift,  1905,  428. 


166  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  KOME. 

The  exact  site  of  the  porta  Mugonia  (p.  37)  cannot  be  de- 
termined with  certainty,  although  it  was  undoubtedly  very 
near  the  intersection  of  the  Nova  via  and  the  clivus  Palatinus. 
Very  near  the  centre  of  the  area  Palatina  is  a  mass  of  medieval 
masonry,  which  belonged  to  the  fortifications  of  the  Frangipani 
family.  Near  by  are  traces  of  buildings  of  the  earliest  period, 
but  nothing  which  can  be  identified,  although  it  is  altogether 
probable  that  the  Mundus,1  or  augural  centre  of  the  city  (p.  38), 
was  just  here. 

lOv.  Fast.  iv.  821;  Fest.  157,  258;  EE.  viii.  283,  12;  Mitt.  1890,  76;  1896, 
202-204;  Jordan,  I.  3.  43. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   FORUM. 

The  Topographical  Centre  of  Ancient  Rome  was  the  low 

ground  lying  between  the  Palatine,  the  Velia,  the  Esquiline, 
the  Viminal,  and  the  Capitoline.  When  the  Palatine  city  had 
extended  its  boundaries  to  the  adjacent  heights,  this  became 
the  natural  meeting-place  for  trade  and  political  action.  •  These 
two  functions  were  carefully  separated,  the  political  assemblies 
being  held  on  the  Comitium,  a  small  and  definitely  marked- 
out  area,  which  lay  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  much  larger 
and  undetermined  area  where  the  people  met  for  other  pur- 
poses. This  was  called  the  Forum,  or  market-place.1  Al- 
though there  was  no  natural  line  of  demarcation  between 
Forum  and  Comitium,  they  were  kept  distinct  in  use  until  the 
middle  of  the  second  century  B.C.  After  that  date  they  grad- 
ually lost  their  separate  identity,  and  the  phrase  Comitium  et 
Forum 2  conveyed  but  one  idea. 

This  valley  was  originally  swampy,  being  the  natural  basin 
for  the  drainage  of  the  surrounding  hills.  The  principal  water- 
course (see  p.  18)  came  down  from  the  Subura,  and  crossing 
the  Forum  flowed  through  the  Velabrum  to  the  Tiber.  It  is 
not  possible  to  ascertain  the  exact  elevation  of  all  parts  of 
this  district,  but  the  original  level  of  the  Comitium  appears 
to  have  been  9  metres  above  the  sea,  or  2.30  metres  above  the 
mean  level  of  the  Tiber,  while  that  of  the  travertine  pavements 
in  front  of  the  temple  of  Julius  Caesar,  on  which  the  altar  was 
built,  is  12.62  metres  above  the  sea.  This  was  one  of  the  lowest 


*  Varro,  LL.  v.  145-146;  Fest.  84.  2xac.  Agr.  2  (ac  for  et). 

167 


168  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

points  in  the  Forum,  in  the  last  century  of  the  republic.  The 
distance  from  the  base  of  the  Capitoline  hill,  directly  in  front 
of  the  steps  of  the  temple  of  Saturn,  to  the  east  end  of  the 
Regia  is  about  210  metres. 

The  path  or  road  from  the  ridge  of  the  Velia  down  to  the 
Forum  was  called  the  Sacra  via  (p.  54),  a  name  that  in  modern 
times  has  been  extended  to  the  continuation  of  this  road,  which 
ran  through  the  Forum  to  the  base  of  the  Capitoline. 

We  may  distinguish  four  stages  in  the  development  of  the 
Forum,  the  first  extending  to  the  last  years  of  the  monarchy, 
the  second  to  the  beginning  of  the  second  century  B.C.,  the 
third  to  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar,  and  the  fourth  to  the  third 
century. 

The  end  of  the  first  period  was  marked  by  the  beginning 
of  a  systematic  attempt  to  drain  the  swampy  ground.  This 
was  effected  by  constructing  sewers,  and  especially  the  Cloaca 
Maxima,  which  at  this  early  time  was  made  by  simply  walling 
up  the  banks  of  the  brook  and  regulating  its  flow.  The  date, 
to  which  tradition  assigned  this  drainage,  has  been  confirmed 
by  the  discovery  of  an  ancient  necropolis  (p.  187)  on  the  Sacra 
via,  in  front  of  the  later  temple  of  Faustina  and  just  outside 
the  limits  of  the  Forum  during  this  first  period.  This  ne- 
cropolis ceased  to  be  used  in  the  sixth  century.  Before  this 
time  it  had  been  impracticable  to  construct  any  permanent 
buildings  in  the  centre  of  the  Forum,  but  rude  booths,  tabernae,1 
had  been  erected  on  both  sides  of  the  Sacra  via,  which  were 
occupied  by  butchers  and  fishmongers.  There  were  a  few 
sanctuaries,  such  as  the  altars  of  Saturn  and  Vulcan  at  the  west 
end  on  the  slope  of  the  Capitoline,  the  double  archway  of  Janus 
on  the  north  side,  and  the  shrine  of  Vesta  at  the  corner  of  the 
Palatine.  There  must  also  have  been  a  building  in  which  the 
senate  met  on  the  Comitium.  There  were  clay  pits  (p.  173)  on 
the  north  side,  from  which  the  material  for  crude  brick  was  ob- 

i  Liv.  i.  35;  Dionys.  iii.  67;  Non.  532. 


THE  FORUM.  169 

tained,  and  tufa  quarries,  Lautumiae  (p.  172),  at  the  base  of  the 
Capitoline.  There  were  several  springs  and  pools,  two  of 
which,  the  lacus  Curtius  and  lacus  luturnae,  continued  to  exist 
during  historical  times.  It  is  possible  that  the  tabernae  assumed 
a  more  permanent  character  toward  the  end  of  this  period. 

During  the  second  period,  —  the  first  three  centuries  of  the 
republic,  —  the  Forum  became  an  increasingly  important  part 
of  the  city.  The  temples  of  Saturn,  of  Castor  and  Pollux,  and 
of  Concord  were  erected  and  the  Eegia,  or  official  house  of  the 
pontifex  maximus,  was  built  just  outside  the  eastern  limits  of 
the  Forum  proper.  The  central  area  was  paved,  probably  in 
the  fourth  century,  and  gladiatorial  games  and  shows  of  all 
sorts  were  celebrated  here.  C.  Maenius,  the  victor  in  the  battle 
of  Antium,  introduced  the  custom  of  erecting  galleries  above 
the  shops,  from  which  these  games  could  be  witnessed,  and 
which  were  called  maeniana.1  We  are  told  that  at  some  time 
before  310  B.C.  the  butchers  were  banished  from  these  shops, 
and  that  they  were  occupied  by  money-changers  and  bankers, 
being  thenceforth  known  as  tabernae  argentariae.2  It  is  pos- 
sible that  this  improvement  also  was  due  to  Maenius.  In  210 
B.C.  the  shops  on  the  north  side  of  the  Sacra  via  burned  down, 
and  after  being  rebuilt  were  called  tabernae  novae,  while  those 
on  the  south  side  were  known  as  tabernae  veteres,  and  the  two 
sides  of  the  Forum  were  distinguished  as  sub  noms  and  sub 
veteribus.*  On  the  Comitium,  the  Rostra  and  the  Graecostasis, 
or  platform  on  which  foreign  ambassadors  were  received,  were 
built  during  this  period. 

The  character  and  appearance  of  the  Forum  was  greatly 
changed  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  century  B.C.  by  the 
erection  of  the  three  basilicas,  Porcia,  Aemilia,  and  Sempronia, 
and,  fifty  years  later,  of  the  Opimia.  These  basilicas  added 


iFest.  134;  Vitr.  v.  1, 1.  2Varro,  ap.  Non.  532;  Vitr.  v.  1,  1. 

«Liv.  xxvi.  27;  Varro,  LL.  vi.  59;  Fest.  230;  Cic.  Acad.  ii.  70;  Jordan,! 
2.  378-383;  Gilbert,  HI.  202-207. 


170  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

greatly  to  the  appearance  of  the  Forum  ;  but  their  main  object 
was  to  afford  convenient  and  sheltered  halls  where  the  Romans 
could  meet  to  transact  the  steadily  increasing  business  of  the 
capital.  The  arch  of  Fabius  was  built  at  the  east  entrance  to 
the  Forum,  and  two  or  more  arches  of  Janus  at  other  points, 
while  the  area  was  gradually  filled  with  statues  of  famous  citizens. 
In  the  latter  part  of  this  period  considerable  changes  took  place 
in  the  Comitium.  On  the  whole,  however,  the  appearance  of 
the  Forum  in  the  middle  of  the  first  century  B.C.  must  have 
been  decidedly  ugly  and  irregular.  In  the  middle  of  the 
second  century  B.C.  the  political  assemblies  of  the  people  had 
been  transferred  from  the  small  Comitium  to  the  Forum,  a 
transfer  marked  a  century  later  by  the  removal  of  the  Rostra 
to  the  Forum  itself,  which  then  became  in  the  fullest  sense 
the  centre  of  Rome. 

The  fourth  period  witnessed  the  complete  rebuilding  of  the 
Forum,  a  process  which  was  just  begun  by  Julius  Caesar,  and 
carried  out  by  Augustus  and  Tiberius.  Later  emperors  did 
something;  but,  with  the  exception  of  the  temples  of  Vespasian 
and  Faustina,  the  arch  of  Septimius  Severus,  the  eight  pedestals 
and  columns  in  front  of  the  basilica  lulia,  and  a  few  minor 
changes,  chiefly  in  its  central  area,  the  Forum  of  the  empire, 
which  is  known  to  us  by  its  ruins,  is  the  work  of  Augustus  and 
Tiberius. 

In  its  final  shape,1  the  area  of  the  Forum  was  surrounded 
by  the  following  buildings,  beginning  at  the  northwest  corner : 


*For  a  new  triangulation  of  the  Forum,  and  the  elevations  of  its  various 
points,  see  NS.  1900,  220-229,  with  plan.  The  best  handbook  for  the  Forum  is 
Hiilsen,  The  Roman  Forum,  translated  by  J.  B.  Carter,  2d  ed.  Rome,  1909. 
See  also  H.  Thedenat,  Le  Forum  Romain  et  les  Forums  imperiaux,  4th  ed. 
Paris,  1908 ;  Thedenat  et  Hoffbauer,  Le  Forum  Romain  et  la  voie  sacree  ; 
aspect  successif  des  monuments  depuis  le  IVe  siecle  jusqu'a  nos  jours,  Paris, 
1905.  The  best  description  of  the  excavations  of  1899-1904  are  by  Hiilsen , 
Mitt.  1902,  1-97;  1905, 1-119.  See  also  Vaglieri,  BC.  1903,  3-239;  Boni,  NS. 
1900—,  passim;  Ashby,  OR.  1900-1906,  and  CQ.  1907—,  passim;  BC. 
1904—,  passim;  Boni,  Atti;  Richter,  BRT.  IV. 


THE  FORUM.  171 

the  Career,  the  temples  of  Concord  and  Vespasian,  which 
abutted  against  the  substructures  of  the  Tabularium,  the  porti- 
cus  Deorum  Consentiuni  in  the  angle  of  the  clivus  Capitolinus, 
and  the  temple  of  Saturn  ;  on  the  south  side,  the  basilica  lulia, 
the  temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux,  the  lacus  luturnae,  and  the 
temple  of  Vesta ;  at  the  east  end,  the  temple  of  Julius  Caesar 
and  the  arch  of  Augustus,  and  behind  them  the  Kegia,  the 
atrium  Vestae,  and  the  arch  of  Fabius ;  on  the  north  side, 
the  temple  of  Faustina,  the  basilica  Aemilia,  the  Curia,  and 
the  Secretarium  senatus.  Across  the  west  end  stretched  the 
Rostra  of  the  empire,  and  there  were  numerous  other  structures 
of  various  sorts  which  will  be  described  hereafter.  After  the 
building  of  the  imperial  fora,  the  old  Forum  was  sometimes 
distinguished  from  them  by  the  epithets  Bomanum  or  Magnum. 

Streets.  —  Until  the  time  of  Augustus,  the  Sacra  via  passed 
along  the  north  side  of  the  Regia,  and  then,  bending  to  the 
left,  continued  along  the  south  side  of  the  Forum  to  the  temple 
of  Saturn,  where  the  clivus  Capitolinus  began.  The  erection 
of  the  temple  of  the  deified  Julius  necessitated  a  change,  and 
thereafter  the  street  ran  in  a  straight  line  from  the  arch  of 
Fabius  to  the  north  corner  of  the  temple  of  Julius,  then  turned 
at  a  right  angle  and  passed  in  front  of  this  temple  to  the 
temple  of  Castor,  where  it  turned  again  at  a  right  angle  and 
ran  along  the  front  of  the  basilica  lulia.1 

Besides  the  Sacra  via  and  clivus  Capitolinus,  six  other  ways 
led  into  the  Forum :  the  vicus  lugarius,  between  the  temple  of 
Saturn  and  the  basilica  lulia ;  the  vicus  Tuscus,  between  the 
basilica  lulia  and  the  temple  of  Castor ;  the  flight  of  steps 
(p.  161)  which  led  up  to  the  Nova  via  and  clivus  Victoriae, 
between  the  lacus  luturnae  and  the  atrium  Vestae ;  the  street 
between  the  temple  of  Faustina  and  the  basilica  Aemilia,  the 
name  of  which  is  not  known ;  the  Argiletum,  between  the 

1  For  a  different  view,  according  to  which  the  road  ran  along  the  south 
side  of  the  Regia,  see  Melanges,  1908,  236-253. 


172  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

basilica  Aemilia  and  the  Curia;  and,  finally,  the  street  be- 
tween the  Curia  and  the  temple  of  Concord,  on  which  were  the 
quarries  (p.  169),  and  which  was  itself  called  Lautumiae  in 
early  times  and  clivus  Argentarius1  under  the  late  empire.  This 
street,  which  connected  the  Forum  with  the  porta  Fontinalis 
(p.  50),  was  the  direct  means  of  communication  between  the 
Forum  and  the  campus  Martius  until  the  imperial  fora  were 
built.  The  ancient  pavement  has  been  found  beneath  what 
has  been  until  very  recently  a  part  of  the  via  di  Marf  orio,  with 
which  it  approximately  coincided. 

The  vicus  lugarius  is  said  to  have  received  its  name  from  an 
altar  of  luno  luga,  quam  putarent  matrimonium  iungere,2  but  it 
is  quite  as  likely  that  it  was  so  called  because  it  connected  the 
Forum  with  the  district  of  the  forum  Holitorium,  or  because 
the  makers  of  yokes  had  their  shops  here.  The  present  pave- 
ment is  not  ancient,3  but  preserves  the  line  of  the  street  after 
the  building  of  the  basilica  lulia.  Some  earlier  foundations, 
recently  discovered4  beneath  the  temple  of  Saturn,  show  that 
before  the  Augustan  period  this  street  was  a  little  farther  to 
the  southeast. 

According  to  tradition,5  the  vicus  Tuscus  derived  its  name 
from  a  settlement  of  Etruscans,  who  either  had  fled  to  Home 
after  the  repulse  of  Porsenna  at  Aricia  or  had  come  to  the 
assistance  of  the  Romans  against  Titus  Tatius.  A  more 
plausible  explanation  is  that  this  settlement  was  composed  of 
the  workmen  who  had  come  to  Koine  to  build  the  temple  of 
luppiter  Capitolinus.  This  street  connected  the  Forum  and 
Velabrum,  and  bore  an  unsavory  reputation.6  On  its  east  side, 
directly  behind  the  temple  of  Castor,  stood  the  temple  of 


i  Jordan,  1.2.437-438. 

2Fest.  290;  Epit.  104;  Jordan,  I.  2.  468;  Gilbert,  I.  257-263;  HI.  416-417. 
8  NS.  1883, 14.  <  CR.  1902,  94. 

6Liv.  ii.  14;  Varro,  LL.  v.  46;  Tac.  Ann.  iv.  65;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  v.  560; 
Jordan,  1. 1.  273-274,  295;  I.  2.  469;  Gilbert,  II.  101-118;  III.  416. 
6  Plaut.  Cure.  482 ;  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  3.  228. 


10         0        10        20        30        40        50        BO       70       80        90 


FIG.  23.    THE  FOE 


MONS  PALAT        I        NUS 


OF  THE  EMPIRK. 


THE   FORUM.  173 

Augustus  and  extensive  warehouses  (p.  165)  ;  and  the  removal 
of  the  medieval  pavement  between  the  basilica  lulia  and  the 
temple  of  Castor  exposed  to  view1  a  unique  specimen  of 
street  pavement  of  opus  spicatum,  or  small  cubes  of  brick. 
This  pavement  is  about  15  metres  in  length,  and  is  bounded 
on  the  west  side  by  a  gutter,  but  on  the  other  it  extends  be- 
neath the  foundations  of  the  temple,  and  was  therefore  laid 
before  this  temple  was  rebuilt  by  Tiberius.  In  this  street  stood 
a  statue  of  Vortumnus,2  which  tradition  assigned  to  Numa. 

The  Argiletum3  connected  the  Forum  with  the  Subura  and 
the  eastern  section  of  the  city,  and  was  one  of  the  great  arteries 
of  communication.  Its  general  character  was  like  that  of  the 
Subura  (p.  457),  but  it  was  also  a  centre  of  the  book  trade. 
Any  number  of  explanations  were  given  by  the  Romans  for 
the  name,  but  the  most  probable  is  that  it  was  derived  from 
the  clay  (argilld)  which  was  dug  close  by.  The  lower  part 
of  it  was  converted  by  Domitian  and  Nerva  into  the  forum 
Transitorium  (p.  282). 

The  Temple  of  Concord.  —  From  the  very  earliest  times  an 
altar  of  Vulcan  stood  on  the  lower  slope  of  the  Capitoline,  at 
the  northwest  corner  of  the  Forum,  and  the  surrounding  space 
was  called  the  area  Volcani  or  Volcanal.4  This  area,  a  locus  sub- 
structus,  was  about  5  metres  above  the  level  of  the  Comitium, 
and  from  it,  before  the  building  of  the  Rostra,  the  Roman 
officials  addressed  the  people.  At  the  edge  of  this  area  was 
also  the  Senaculum  (p.  231),  the  assembling  place  of  the 
senate,  and  a  lotos  tree,  said  to  be  as  old  as  the  city  itself,  was 
growing  here  in  the  time  of  Pliny.  Some  remains  of  very 


1  CR.  1899,  466;  BC.  1899,  253.     (This  pavement  is  now  covered.) 

2  Prop.  iv.  2;  Gilbert,  III.  416. 

8  Varro,  LL.  v.  157;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  viii.  345;  Mart.  i.  3.  1, 117.  9;  Jordan,  I. 
2.  345,  351;  3.  327;  Gilbert,  II.  87-92;  BC.  1890,  98-102. 

«Lhr.xl.l9;  Dionys.  ii.  50 ;  Fest.  290 ;  Gell.iv.5;  PI.  NH.  xvi.  236 ;  Jordan, 
I.  2.  339-341;  Gilbert,  I.  248-257;  Mitt.  1893,  87-88. 


174  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

early  tufa  foundations  have  been  found1  just  behind  the  arch 
of  Severus,  which  seem  to  have  belonged  to  the  Volcanal,  and 
traces  of  a  sort  of  rock  platform,  3.95  metres  long  by  2.80  wide, 
which  had  been  covered  with  cement  and  painted  red.  Its 
upper  surface  is  cut  by  various  channels,  and  in  front  of  it 
are  the  remains  of  a  drain  made  of  tufa  slabs.  This  may 
possibly  have  been  the  ara  Volcani.  It  shows  signs  of  having 
been  damaged  and  repaired.  Behind  it  are  steps  cut  in  the 
rock  and  leading  up  to  the  temple  of  Concord.  In  the  surface 
of  this  rock  are  cuttings,  round  and  square,  which  have  some 
resemblance  to  graves,  and  are  so  regarded  by  some2  but  probably 
without  reason.  Although  the  cult  of  Vulcan  continued  here 
at  least  down  to  the  early  empire,3  the  Volcanal  must  have  been 
much  diminished  in  size  by  the  encroachment  of  surrounding 
buildings,  and  perhaps  at  last  entirely  buried. 

The  first  temple  of  Concord  was  built  by  M.  Furius  Camil- 
lus  in  367  B.C.,  to  commemorate  the  passage  of  the  Licinian 
laws  and  the  end  of  the  long  struggle  between  the  orders.4 
The  space  around  the  temple  was  then  called  the  area  Ooncordiae. 
The  temple  was  rebuilt  in  121  B.C.  by  L.  Opimius,5  who  also 
erected  the  basilica  Opimia6  close  to  the  temple  on  the  north, 
with  probably  the  same  orientation.  The  basilica  was  removed 
and  the  temple  entirely  rebuilt  by  Tiberius,  and  dedicated  in 
10  A.D.  in  his  own  name  and  that  of  Drusus  as  the  aedes  Con- 
cordiae  Augustae.7  It  was  restored  at  least  once  afterward,  but 
at  an  unknown  date.  Peculiar  local  conditions  led  to  the  adop- 
tion of  a  plan  which  made  the  structure  unique  among  Roman 
temples.  Instead  of  the  usual  proportions,  the  cella  of  the 
Augustan  temple  was  45  metres  wide  and  only  24  deep,  while 

i  CR.  1902,  94;  BC.  1902,  25-26,  125-133;  1903, 159-162;  Mitt.  1902,  10;  1905, 
7-9.  2  Richter,  BRT.  IV.  15-16.  »  GIL.  vi.  457. 

<Plut.  Cam.  42;  Ov.  Fast.  i.  641;  Jordan,  I.  2.  332-336;  Gilbert,  III.  62-64. 

s  App.  Bell.  Civ.  i.  26 ;  Plut.  C.  Gracch.  17. 

«Varro,  LL.  v.  156;  Cic.  pro  Sest.  140;  GIL.  vi.  2338-2339;  Jordan,  I.  2. 
338,  384;  Gilbert,  III.  214;  Mitt.  1893,  84,  91. 

^  Suet.  Tib.  20;  Dio  Cass.  Iv.  8;  Ivi.  25;  GIL.  vi.  89-94. 


THE   FORUM.  175 

the  pronaos  was  only  24  metres  wide  and  14  deep,  and  there- 
fore did  not  extend  across  the  whole  front  of  the  cella.  The 
back  wall  of  the  cella  abutted  against  the  front  of  the  Tabu- 
larium  (p.  307),  and  a  very  wide  flight  of  steps  led  down  from 
the  pronaos  to  the  area.  The  interior  of  the  cella  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  row  of  white  marble  columns,  standing  on  a  low 
shelf  which  projected  from  the  main  wall.  This  wall  con- 
tained eleven  niches,  in  the  central  one  of  which,  opposite  the 
entrance,  a  statue  of  Concord  must  have  stood. 

Recent  investigation l  of  the  concrete  foundations  has  brought 
forward  evidence  of  four  successive  periods  in  the  history  of 
the  temple,  and  has  shown  that  the  peculiar  shape  was  to  some 
extent  characteristic  of  all  of  them.  The  earliest  concrete 
seems  to  date  from  the  third  century  B.C.,  and,  together  with 
some  in  the  temple  of  Castor  (see  p.  180),  is  probably  the 
earliest  known  example  of  its  use.  Its  existence  would  indi- 
cate a  restoration,  otherwise  unknown  to  us,  before  that  of 
Opimius. 

The  existing  remains  consist  of  the  concrete  core  of  the 
podium,  in  which  are  two  chambers  that  may  have  been  store- 
rooms for  treasure ;  the  threshold  of  the  main  entrance,  com- 
posed of  two  blocks  of  Porta  santa  marble  7  metres  long ;  a 
very  few  fragments  of  the  marble  pavement  of  the  cella  and 
the  pronaos ;  and  a  part  of  the  magnificent  cornice,  now  in  the 
Tabularium,  together  with  numerous  small  architectural  frag- 
ments. The  exterior  of  the  temple  was  covered  with  marble, 
and  the  cella  was  a  veritable  museum 2  of  works  of  art  of  all 
kinds,  to  which  frequent  reference  is  made  in  classical  litera- 
ture. It  also  served  as  a  frequent  meeting-place  for  the  senate. 

Near  by  was  an  aedicula  Ooncordiae,  built  by  Q.  Flavius  in  304 
B.C.  This  shrine3  was  made  of  bronze  and  stood  in  Graecostasi 

i  CR.  1906,  82-84,  184. 

3  PL  NH.  xxxiv.  73,  80,  89;   xxxvii.  4;   Jacobi,  Grundziige  einer  Museo- 
graphie  d.  Stadt  Rom  zur  Zeit  des  Kaisers  Augustus,  1884. 
«P1.  NH.  xxxiii.  19;  Liv.  ix.  46;  Gilbert,  III.  64. 


176  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

(p.  230)  quae  tune  supra  comitium  erat.     It  must  have  been  re- 
moved when  Tiberius  rebuilt  the  temple  of  Concord. 

Close  to  the  Volcanal  were  certain  stationes  municipiorum,1  the 
exact  object  of  which  is  not  known;  but  for  their  position  near 
the  temple  of  Concord  epigraphic  evidence  has  recently  been 
found. 

The  £emple  of  Vespasian. — The  temple  of  Vespasian 2  was 
begun  by  Titus,  completed  by  Domitian,  and  restored  by  Seve- 
rus.  Although  only  the  name  of  Vespasian  appeared  on  the 
temple,  it  is  called  the  temple  of  Vespasian  and  Titus  in  docu- 
ments of  the  fourth  century,  and  was  probably  dedicated  to 
both  by  Domitian.  It  was  prostyle  hexastyle,  33  metres  long 
and  22  wide.  The  existing  remains  consist  of  the  core  of  the 
podium,  with  some  of  its  peperino  lining;  two  fragments  of 
the  cella  wall  of  travertine ;  part  of  the  pedestal  in  the  rear  of 
the  cella,  on  which  stood  the  statues  of  Vespasian  and  Titus ; 
and  three  Corinthian  columns  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
pronaos.  These  columns  are  of  white  marble,  15.20  metres 
high  and  1.57  in  diameter  at  the  base,  and  support  a  portion 
of  the  entablature  on  which  are  the  last  letters  of  the  inscrip- 
tion 3  recording  the  restoration  by  Severus  and  Caracalla.  A 
restored  fragment  of  the  cornice  is  in  the  Tabularium.  The 
temple  was  covered  inside  and  out  with  marble  in  the  usual 
way,  and  there  were  marble  columns  round  the  interior  of  the 
cella,  as  in  the  temple  of  Castor. 

As  the  available  space  was  small  and  ill  adapted  for  its  pur- 
pose, this  temple  had  to  be  built  directly  against  the  front  of 
the  Tabularium.  It  thus  closed  the  entrance  to  the  long  flight 
of  steps  which  led  from  the  Forum  through  the  Tabularium  to 
the  top  of  the  Capitoline  (p.  308).  The  existing  columns  and 
entablature  were  taken  down  in  1811,  and  reset. 

1  PI.  NH.  xvi.  236;  BC.  1899,  242-243;  1900, 124-134;  Mitt.  1902,  11;  1905,  9. 

2  Jordan,  I.  2.  192-193;  Reber,  Die  Ruinen  Roms,  81-86. 
»  CIL.  vi.  938. 


THE   FORUM. 


177 


Between  this  temple  and  that  of  Concord  are  the  ruins  of  a 
small  building,  erroneously  called  an  aedicula  Faustinas,1  which 
is  contemporary  with  the  temple  of  Vespasian,  as  its  left  wall 
rests  on  the  foundations  of  the  temple,  which  were  made  to 
project  for  this  very  purpose.  The  building  was  4.10  metres 
wide  and  2.50  deep,  and  the  marks  of  its  vaulted  roof  are  visi- 
ble on  the  front  wall  of  the  Tabularium.  The  purpose  of  the 
structure  is  unknown,  but  in  it  was  found  a  marble  base  dedi- 
cated to  Faustina  by  the  viatores  quaestorii  ab  aerario  Satumi. 


FIG.  24. — THE  PORTICUS  DEORUM  CONSENTIUM. 


The  Porticus  Deorum  Consentium. — Next  to  the  temple  of 
Vespasian,  in  the  obtuse  angle  formed  by  the  Tabularium  and 
the  clivus  Capitolinus,  are  the  remains  of  a  curious  structure 
consisting  of  two  parts.  The  substructure  contains  seven  small 
chambers,  without  light  and  of  unknown  use.  Above  is  a  plat- 

i  OIL.  vi.  1019;  Mitt.  1893,  284-285. 


178  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

form,  paved  with  blocks  of  marble,  on  which  is  a  row  of  small 
rooms,  4  metres  high  and  3.70  deep,  made  of  brick-faced  con- 
crete. They  are  built  against  the  rock  under  the  Tabularium, 
and  against  the  retaining  wall  of  the  clivus.  Seven  have  been 
excavated,  and  the  rest  (probably  five)  are  buried  beneath  the 
houses  on  the  west  side  of  the  clivus.  In  front  of  these  cham- 
bers, which  open  outward,  is  a  porticus  of  Corinthian  columns 
supporting  an  entablature.  This  porticus  has  been  restored, 
but  most  of  the  entablature  and  four  of  the  columns  are  ancient. 
The  statues  of  the  twelve  Dii  Consentes  stood  probably  in  the 
intercoluniniations  of  this  colonnade,  the  restoration  or  building 
of  which  in  367  A.D.  by  Vettius  Praetextatus,  a  vigorous  sup- 
porter of  paganism,  is  recorded  by  the  inscription  l  on  the  archi- 
trave. Gilded  statues  of  these  gods  and  goddesses  2  had  stood. 
in  this  part  of  the  Forum  from  very  early  times,  but  nothing  is 
known  of  any  temple  or  shrine  in  which  they  were  placed. 

The  Temple  of  Saturn.  —  Corresponding  to  the  altar  of  Vul- 
can at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Forum,  there  was  at  the 
southwest  corner  a  very  ancient  altar  of  Saturn,3  which  was 
replaced  at  the  beginning  of  the  republic  by  a  temple,  built,  it 
was  said,  by  the  consuls  for  the  year  497  B.C.*  The  temple 
was  rebuilt5  by  L.  Munatius  Plancus  in  42  B.C.,  and  is  repre- 
sented on  fragments  6  of  the  Marble  Plan.  During  the  later 
empire,  it  was  injured  by  fire  and  restored,  as  the  inscription7 
on  the  architrave  records.  The  existing  podium  belongs  to 
the  temple  of  Plancus.  It  is  constructed  of  walls  of  traver- 
tine and  peperino,  with  concrete  filling,  and  was  covered 
with  marble  facing.  It  is  22.50  metres  wide,  about  40  long, 


l  OIL.  vi.  102. 

2Varro,  RR.  1.1;  Jordan,  I.  2.  366-367;  Gilbert,  III.  102-103. 

SDionys.  i.  34;  Macrob.  Sat.  i.  8.  2. 

<Liv.  ii.  21;  Dionys.  vi.  1  ;  Jordan  I.  2.  360-363;  Gilbert,  III.  401-403. 

sSuet.  Aug.  29;  OIL.  vi.  1316;  x.  6087. 

«  Jordan,  FUR.  22,  23,  30.  *  OIL.  vi.  937. 


THE   FORUM.  179 

and  its  front  and  east  side  rise  very  high  above  the  Forum  be- 
cause of  the  slope  of  the  Capitoline  hill.  The  temple  was 
Ionic,  hexastyle  prostyle,  with  two  columns  on  each  side,  not 
counting  those  at  the  angles.  Of  the  superstructure  eight 
columns  of  the  pronaos  remain,  six  in  front  and  one  on  each 
side,  together  with  the  entablature,  and  all  date  from  a  period 
of  great  decadence,  that  of  the  final  restoration.  The  front 
columns  are  of  gray  and  those  on  the  sides  of  red  granite, 
while  the  entablature  is  of  white  marble.  The  columns  are  11 
metres  in  height,  and  1.43  in  diameter  at  the  base ;  but  in 
some  of  them  the  drums  which  form  the  shaft  have  been 
wrongly  placed,  so  that  the  shaft  does  not  taper  regularly  to- 
ward the  top.  The  bases,  also,  are  of  three  different  kinds  — 
Attic,  and  Corinthian  with  and  without  a  plinth.  The  entab- 
lature exhibits  the  same  debased  style,  as  architrave  and  frieze 
are  united  in  one  plane.1 

The  steps  of  this  temple  were  of  peculiar  form,  on  account 
of  the  closeness  of  the  clivus  Capitolinus  and  the  sharp  angle 
which  it  made  in  front  of  the  temple,  the  main  flight  being 
only  about  one-third  the  width  of  the  pronaos.  From  the 
early  years  of  the  republic  to  the  end  of  the  empire,  the 
temple  of  Saturn  contained  the  aerarium  Batumi  or.  state  treas- 
ury, which  was  presided  over  by  quaestors  and  praefecti 
aerarii,  under  the  control  of  the  senate.  It  is  possible  that 
there  may  be  strong  rooms  for  the  storage  of  money  in  the 
podium,  but  they  have  not  been  discovered. 

The  area  Saturni2  was  probably  in  the  space  between  the 
vicus  lugarius  and  the  clivus  Capitolinus,  south  of  the  temple, 
for  there  appears  to  have  been  no  room  for  it  on  any  other  side. 
The  offices  of  the  treasury  department  may  have  stood  on  this 
area,  and  also  altars  of  Geres  and  Ops,  erected  in  7  B.C.  in 
vico  lugario.3 

iFor  recent  excavations,  see  NS.  1899,  49;  Arch.  Am.  1899,  7;  CJR.  1899, 
234;  BC.  1902,  26;  Mitt.  1902,  9. 

2  OIL.  i.  636;  vi.  1265.  »  OIL.  P.  p.  240;  Jordan,  I.  2.  364-365. 


180  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

The  Temple  of  Castor.  —  The  official  name  of  this  temple 
was  aedes  Castoris l  [ad  Forum]  but  it  was  also  called  aedes 
Castorum,2  and  sometimes  erroneously  aedes  Castoris  et  Pol- 
lucis.3  It  was  dedicated,  according  to  tradition,  in  484  B.C.,4 
close  to  the  spring  of  Juturna,  to  commemorate  the  appearance 
of  the  Dioscuri  at  that  spot  after  the  battle  of  lake  Eegillus. 
Internal  evidence 5  seems  to  show  that  it  was  restored  perhaps 
two  hundred  years  later,  and  again 6  in  117  B.C.  by  L.  Caecilius 
Metellus,  but  probably  still  in  the  Tuscan  style,  with  stuccoed 
columns  of  tufa.  Some  repairs  at  least  were  made  by  Verres ; 7 
but  the  temple  was  completely  rebuilt  by  Tiberius,8  and  dedi- 
cated in  his  own  name  and  that  of  Drusus  in  6  A.D.  A  still  later 
restoration  has  usually  been  supposed  to  have  been  carried  out 
by  Domitian  or  Hadrian,  but  this  is  by  no  means  certain,9  and 
in  any  case  it  was  probably  not  such  as  to  materially  affect  the 
appearance  of  the  building. 

The  imperial  temple  was  Corinthian,10  octostyle  and  perip- 
teral, with  eleven  columns  on  a  side,  and  a  double  row  on  each 
side  of  the  pronaos.  This  pronaos  was  9.90  metres  by  15.80, 
the  cella  16  by  19.70,  and  the  whole  temple  about  50  metres 
long  by  30  wide.  The  floor  of  the  temple  was  about  7  metres 
above  the  Sacra  via.  The  very  lofty  podium  consisted  of  a 
concrete  core  enclosed  in  tufa  walls,  from  which  projected 
short  spur  walls.  On  these  stood  the  columns,  but  -  directly 
beneath  them  at  the  points  of  heaviest  pressure  travertine  was 
substituted  for  tufa.  Between  these  spur  walls  were  chambers 
in  the  podium,  opening  outward  and  closed  by  metal  doors, 

iSuet.  Caes.  10.  *  Liv.  ii.  42;  Ov.  Fast.  i.  706. 

2  PI.  NH.  x.  121.  5  CR.  1906,  77-82. 

8  Suet.  Gal..  22 ;  GIL.  vi.  2202.  «  Asc.  ad  Scaur.  46 ;  Cic.  in  Verr.  i.  154. 

^Cic.  in  Verr.  i.  130-154.  , 

8  Suet.  Tib.  20;   Dio  Cass.  Iv.  27;  Jordan,  I.  2  369-376;  Gilbert,  III.  58-62. 

9  CR.  1906,  77. 

10  Reber,  Die  Ruinen  Roms,  136-142;  Jahrb.  d.  Inst.  1898,  87-114;  CR.  1899, 
466;  1902,  95,  284;  1906,77-84,  184;  BC.  1899,  253;  1900,  66,  285;    1902,  28; 
1903,  165 ;  Mitt.  1902,  66-C7  ;  1905,  80. 


182 


TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


which  seem  to  have  been  used  as  safe  deposit  vaults  for  the 
imperial  fiscus  and  for  the  treasures  of  private  persons.1 

From  the  pronaos  a  flight  of  eleven  steps,  extending  nearly 
across  the  whole  width  of  the  temple,  led  down  to  a  wide  plat- 
form, 3.66  metres  above  the  area  in  front.  This  platform  was 
provided  with  a  railing,  and  formed  a  high  and  safe  place 
from  which  to  address  the  people.  From  the  frequent  refer- 
ences in  literature,  it  is  evident  that  there  was  a  similar 


FIG.  26.  —  THE  TEMPLE  OF  CASTOR  RESTORED. 

arrangement  in  the  earlier  temple  of  Metellus.  Leading  from 
this  platform  to  the  ground  were  two  narrow  staircases,  at  the 
ends  and  not  in  front.  The  podium  was  covered  with  marble 
facing,  and  decorated  with  two  cornices,  one  at  the  top,  and 
another  just  above  the  metal  doors  of  the  strong  chambers. 
The  pavement  of  the  temple  of  the  late  republic  or  early  em- 


ldc.pro  Quinct.  17;  Schol.  Juven.  xiv.  261. 


THE  FORUM.  183 

pire  was  of  mosaic,  of  which  a  small  fragment  has  been  pre- 
served, but  this  was  afterward  covered  by  a  pavement  of 
marble  slabs.  Of  the  superstructure  three  columns  on  the 
east  side  are  standing,  which  are  regarded  as  perhaps  the  finest 
architectural  remains  in  Rome.  They  are  of  white  marble, 
fluted,  12.50  metres  in  height  and  1.45  in  diameter.  The  en- 
tablature, 3.75  metres  high,  has  a  plain  frieze  and  an  admir- 
ably worked  cornice.  Those  who  believe  in  an  effective 
restoration  of  the  temple  after  the  Augustan  period,  assign  the 
existing  superstructure  to  this  later  date. 

In  the  temple  of  Castor  were  kept  the  standard  weights  and 
measures,1  and  it  was  frequently  used  for  meetings  of  the 
senate,2  as  its  commanding  position  made  it  comparatively  safe 
from  attacks  of  the  mob. 

The  Temple  of  Julius  Caesar.  — The  body  of  Julius  Caesar 
was  burned3  at  the  east  end  of  the  Forum,  in  front  of  the 
Regia,  and  on  this  very  spot  an  altar4  was  erected  and  a 
column  of  Numidian  marble,5  twenty  feet  high,  set  up;  but 
they  were  soon  removed  by  Dolabella.6  In  42  B.C.  Augustus 
determined 7  to  build  here  a  temple  to  the  deified  Caesar  (aedes 
divi  luli).  The  temple  was  finished  some  years  later,  after  the 
battle  of  Actium,  and  dedicated  August  18,  29  B.C.8  It  was  re- 
stored by  Hadrian,9  and  there  are  some  traces  of  a  still  later 
restoration,  perhaps  in  the  fourth  century. 

Considerable  portions  of  the  foundation  remain,  and  the  ex- 
cavations,10 recently  completed,  have  shown  that  it  consisted  of 

l  Jordan,  I.  2.  374  n. ;  Mitt.  1889,  244-245. 

«Cic.  in  Verr.  i.  129;  Jul.  Capit.  Vit.  Maximin.  16;  Trebell.  Vit.  Valerian. 
5 ;  OIL.  i.  p.  107.  «  Liv.  Epit.  116 ;  Plut.  Caes.  68. 

*  App.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  148 ;  iii.  2 ;  Dio  Cass.  xliv.  51.  3  Suet.  Caes.  85. 

6Cic.  ad  Alt.  xiv.  15;  Phil.  i.  5. 

7  Dio  Cass.  xlvii.  18,  19;  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  2;  Jordan,  I.  2.  406-409. 

8  Dio  Cass.  li.  22;  Hemer.  Amit.  Antiat.  ad  xv.  Kal.  Sept. 
»  Cohen,  Hadr.  416-419,  1388. 

MJahrb.  des  Inst.  1889,  137-162;  Antike  Denkmiiler,  i.  27,  28;  CB.  1899, 
185,  466;  Mitt.  1902,  61-62;  1905,  75-76;  BC.  1903,  81-83;  Atti,  563-566. 


184  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

two  parts,  a  rectangular  platform  3.5  metres  high,  26  wide,  and 
about  30  long,  and  on  this  the  stylobate  proper  of  the  temple, 
which  rose  2.36  metres  above  the  platform  and  was  about  17 
metres  in  width.  In  the  middle  of  the  front  of  the  platform  is 
a  semicircular  niche,  8.3  metres  in  diameter,  of  which  a  consid- 


FIG.  27.  —  THE  ALTAR  OF  CAESAR. 

erable  part  of  the  peperino  wall  has  been  left  in  place,  although 
elsewhere  the  tufa  and  peperino  blocks  have  been  removed  and 
only  the  concrete  core  remains.  At  a  late  date,  a  rude  wall  of 
tufa  was  built  directly  across  this  niche,  and  its  removal  dis- 
closed a  portion  of  the  concrete  core  of  a  round  altar  standing 
on  the  travertine  slabs  which  formed  the  pavement  of  the  Forum 
when  the  temple  was  built.  This  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the 
slabs  were  cut  off  to  allow  the  wall  of  the  niche  to  be  built. 
The  altar  appears  to  have  been  purposely  demolished.  It  is 
evident  that  when  the  temple  was  built  the  altar  on  the  spot 
where  Caesar's  body  was  burnt  had  been  restored,  and  that  the 
sacred  monument  was  preserved  in  the  niche  of  the  platform. 


THE   FORUM. 


185 


This  platform  projected  beyond  the  stylobate  on  both  sides, 
and  in  front  for  a  distance  of  7  metres.  The  projection  in 
front,  encircling  the  niche,  was  called  the  rostra  aedis  divi  luli, 
or  perhaps  the  rostra  lulia.1  The  wall  on  both  sides  of  .the  niche 
was  decorated  with  the  beaks  of  the  ships  which  were  captured 


FIG.  28.  —  THE  TEMPLK  OF  CAESAR  RESTORED. 

at  Actium,2  in  a  style  similar  to  that  of  the  old  Eostra.  There 
is  some  evidence  in  support  of  the  view,  probable  in  itself,  that 
Caesar  had  himself  erected  a  second  rostra  at  the  east  end  of 
the  Forum,  which  was  represented  by  the  rostra  aedis  divi  luli 
after  the  building  of  this  temple.3 

The  temple  itself  was  of  an  unusual  type,4  being  of  the  Ionic 

1  Suet.  Aug.  100 ;  Dio  Cass.  Ivi.  34 ;  Front,  de  Aquis,  129.     2  Dio  Cass.  li.  19. 
8Richter,  Geschichte  der  Rednerbiihne,  52-55;  Gilbert,  III.  107. 
«  Vitr.  iii.  2.  2;  Stat.  Silv.  i.  1.  22-24. 


186  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

order,  hexastyle  pycnostyle,  probably  with  antae.  The  diame- 
ter of  the  columns  at  the  base  was  about  1.18  metres,  and  their 
height  nine  times  the  diameter.  The  cella  occupied  the  whole 
width  of  the  temple,  about  17  metres,  but  was  only  about  6.5 
metres  deep.  Within  the  cella,  opposite  the  very  wide  en- 
trance, stood  a  colossal  statue  of  Caesar,  the  head  of  which  was 
ornamented  with  a  comet  or  star.  The  space  between  the  two 
middle  columns  of  the  pronaos  was  wider  than  that  between 
the  others,  so  that  this  statue  could  be  seen  from  'the  area  of 
the  Forum.  The  approaches  to  the  lower  platform  of  the  tem- 
ple were  at  each  side  of  the  rostra.  Numerous  architectural 
fragments  have  been  found,  and  from  them  a  fairly  satisfactory 
reconstruction  can  be  made. 

The  Temple  of  Antoninus  and  Faustina.  —  This  temple  was 
erected  in  141  A.D.,  and  dedicated  to  Faustina,  the  deified  wife 
of  Antoninus  Pius ;  and  after  the  death  of  the  latter  in  161,  it 
was  dedicated  to  both  together.1  The  inscription 2  on  the  archi- 
trave records  the  first  dedication,  and  that  added  afterward  on 
the  frieze  records  the  second.  In  the  seventh  or  eighth  cen- 
tury the  temple,  apparently  in  good  condition,  was  converted 
into  the  church  of  S.  Lorenzo  in  Miranda,  but  since  that  time 
it  has  suffered  great  injuries.  It  was  hexastyle  prostyle,  with 
two  columns  on  each  side,  besides  those  at  the  corners,  and 
pilasters  in  antis.  The  columns  are  of  cipollino,  17  metres 
high  and  1.45  in  diameter  at  the  base,  with  Corinthian  capitals 
of  white  marble,  and  support  an  entablature  of  white  marble, 
which  probably  encircled  the  whole  building.  The  existing 
remains  consist  of  portions  of  the  cella  wall  of  peperino,  built 
into  the  walls  of  the  church,  extending  for  20  metres  on  the 
northwest  and  15  on  the  southeast  side;  the  columns  of  the 
pronaos,  which  stand  free  from  the  church  with  the  exception 
of  the  two  nearest  the  antae;  the  architrave  and  frieze  of  the 
facade  and  sides  as  far  as  the  cella  wall  extends,  but  only  a 

i  Jul.  Capit.  Tit.  Pii,  6,  13;  OIL.  vi.  2001.  2  OIL.  vi.  1005. 


THE   FORUM. 


1ST 


small  part  of  the  cornice ;  and  the  wide  flight  of  steps l  leading 
down  to  the  Sacra  via,  in  the  middle  of  which  are  the  remains 
of  an  altar.  Some  fragments  of  a  colossal  seated  female  statue,2 
and  a  few  other  bits  of  sculpture,  have  been  found  near  by. 
The  whole  temple  was  covered  with  slabs  of  marble,  but  these 
have  entirely  disappeared.  The  frieze  on  the  sides  of  the  tem- 
ple is  very  beautifully  sculptured  in  relief  with  garlands,  sac- 
rificial implements,  and  griffins.  On  the  columns  are  numerous 
inscriptions  and  figures. 


FIG.  29.  —  THE  REGIA  AND  THE  TEMPLK  OF  ANTONINUS  AND 
FAUSTINA. 

The  Archaic    Necropolis.  —  The    recent    excavations    have 
brought  to  light  the  original  level  of  the  Sacra  via  in  front  of 

1  CR.  1899,  186;  NS.  1899,  77;  BC.  1900,  62-63. 

2  CR.  1902,  285;  BC.  1902,  30-31. 


188  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

the  temple  of  Faustina,  the  .lower  parts  of  its  steps,  and  also 
the  remains  of  several  private  houses  which  occupied  this  site 
before  the  building  of  the  temple,  each  one  of  which  was 
provided  with  a  separate  sewer  emptying  into  the  main  cloaca 
under  the  street  (p.  273).  The  most  important  discovery  at 
this  point  is  that  of  an  ancient  necropolis,1  belonging  to  the 
early  Palatine  or  Septimontium  city,  at  a  depth  of  3  or  4  metres 
beneath  the  pavement  of  the  Sacra  via. 

Fifty-two  graves  had  been  found  up  to  the  close  of  1909. 
Their  contents  have  been  removed,  and  the  whole  area  covered. 
These  graves  are  of  two  kinds,  those  for  inhumation,  and  those 
constructed  as  receptacles  for  ashes.  The  latter  are  the  earlier, 
and  are  round  holes  sunk  in  the  rock  and  covered  with  slabs  of 
tufa.  In  them  were  placed  large  dolia,  containing  cinerary 
urns  and  various  smaller  vessels  for  sacrificial  gifts.  The 
urns  are  of  different  shapes,  some  of  them  Hut-urns,  represent- 
ing the  early  Italic  hut,  with  a  door  and  a  roof  with  raised  bars 
like  the  rafters  of  a  house.  Others  are  bowl-shaped,  but  with 
a  cover  like  that  of  the  hut-urns.  Besides  ashes,  fragments  of 
bone  and  charred  grains  of  wheat  were  found  in  these  urns. 
Almost  all  the  pottery  is  of  clay  found  in  the  neighborhood, 
made  without  a  potter's  wheel,  and  in  some  cases  decorated 
with  simple  scratchings. 

.The  graves  for  inhumation  are  rectangular  in  shape,  and 
belong  in  general  to  a  later  period,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
they  cut  into  the  round  graves.  The  larger  number,  however, 
are  graves  for  children,  and  as  the  burial  of  children  seems  to 
have  been  often  contemporaneous  with  the  cremation  of  adults, 
the  two  periods  may  have  overlapped.  Some  of  these  graves 
contained  skeletons,  and  one  the  remnants  of  a  wooden  coffin. 


.  1902,  96-111;  1903,  123-170;  375-427;  4905,  145-193;  1906,  5-54,  253- 
294;  £(7.1902,37-53,  186-189;  1903,33-42,  252-271;  1909,  117;  Mitt.  1902,92- 
94;  1905,  95-115;  CR.  1902,  476-477;  1903,  328;  1904,  137-138;  Mon.  d.  Lined, 
1905,  273-314 ;  Pais,  Ancient  Legends,  34-37 ;  Atti,  499-514. 


THE   FORUM. 


189 


FIG.  30.  —  THE  ANCIENT  NECROPOLIS  ON  THE  SACRA  VIA. 


190  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  HOME. 

They  resemble  the  graves  found  on  the  Esquiline  and  belong 
to  the  same  period  of  civilization,  the  early  iron  age. 

The  funeral  gifts  found  in  all  these  graves,  aside  from  the 
pottery,  consist  mostly  of  bronze  jewellery  and  arms,  with  some 
ornaments  of  glass,  amber,  and  ivory,  but  no  gold,  and  only 
two  bits  of  silver.  Nothing  is  later  than  the  sixth  century, 
and  the  use  of  the  necropolis  probably  extended  from  about 
the  ninth  to  the  sixth  century.  It  was  buried  and  forgotten 
during  the  republic,  and  the  date  of  its  abandonment  corre- 
sponds with  that  assigned  by  tradition  for  the  draining  of  the 
Forum  and  the  beginning  of  its  development. 

The  Temple  of  lanns  Geminus.  —  This  temple  is  said  to  have 
been  built  by  Numa,1  but  there  is  no  record  of  any  restoration 
or  rebuilding  of  any  sort,  although  the  edifice  was  standing  in 
the  sixth  century.  It  is  therefore  very  unlikely  that  it  was 
ever  moved  from  its  original  site.  Besides  Geminus,  the 
epithets  Quirinus,2  Bifrons,3  and  Biformis4  were  employed 
when  this  temple  was  mentioned.  Its  gates  were  opened  in 
time  of  war  and  closed  in  time  of  peace.  After  the  reign  of 
Numa,  such  closing  is  said  to  have  occurred  in  the  year  235  B.C. 
after  the  end  of  the  first  Punic  war,  in  30  B.C.  after  the  battle 
of  Actium,  and  thereafter  at  more  frequent  intervals,  down  to 
the  fifth  century.5 

A  very  brief  description,6  and  coins  of  Nero,7  represent  this 
temple  as  a  small  rectangular  structure,  with  two  side  walls 
and  double  doors  at  each  end.  The  walls  were  not  so  high  as 
the  doors,  and  were  surmounted  by  a  grating.  These  gratings 
and  the  arches  over  the  doors  supported  an  entablature  of  two 
members,  which  extended  all  round  the  building,  but  there  was 

1  Liv.  i.  19;  Jordan,  I.  2.  345-352;  Gilbert,  I.  321-328. 

2  Suet.  Aug.  22.  »  Verg.  Aen.  xii.  198.  *  Ov.  Fast.  i.  89. 

8  Mon.  Anc.  ii.  42;  Lamprid.  Vit.  Comm.  16;  Jul.  Capit.  Tit.  Gordian.  26; 
Claudian,  de  Cons.  Stil.  ii.  287. 
6  Procop.  Bell.  Goth.  i.  25. 
i  Cohen,  Nero,  132-178,  183. 


THE   FORUM. 


191 


no  roof.  The  ancient  bronze  statue  of  the  two-faced  god,  of 
Etruscan  workmanship,  stood  in  the  centre  of  the  temple,  which 
was  no  temple  in  the  ordinary  sense,  but  a  passage  (ianus)  with 
gates,  intended  to  symbolize  some  essential  part  of  the  Roman 
conception  of  this  divinity.  The  whole  temple,  as  well  as  the 
statue,  was  of  bronze,  and  being  so  small  a  structure,  it  appears 
to  have  disappeared  entirely,  for  no 
traces  of  it  have  ever  been  found. 
The  numerous  references  in  litera- 
ture to  its  site  do  not  furnish  as 
exact  information  as  might  be  de- 
sired. It  is  described  as  being  circa 
imum  Argiletum,1  ad  infimum  Argile- 
tum,2 beljpre  the  Curia,3  in  front  of 
the  Curia,4  and  Ovid5  says  that  it 
was  iuncta  duobus  foris,  i.e.  the  forum 
Romanum  and  the  forum  lulium. 
It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  it  was  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Forum,  near  the  Curia,  and  it  has  generally  been  supposed  that 
it  was  between  the  Curia  and  the  west  end  of  the  basilica 
Aemilia,  at  the  end  of  the  Argiletum,  but  the  recent  excava- 
tions have  shown  hardly  any  room  here  even  for  so  small  a 
building.6 

The  temple  was  also  called  geminae  portae  and  portae  belli,7 
and  Varro,8  in  describing  the  gates  of  the  Palatine,  states  that 
the  third  was  called  the  porta  lanualis  from  Janus,  and  therefore 
a  statue  of  Janus  was  placed  there.  According  to  another  tra- 
dition,9 Janus  caused  a  flood  of  hot  water  to  issue  from  this 
gate,  the  porta  lanualis,10  to  defend  the  Romans  from  the  ad- 


FIG.  31.  —  THE  TEMPLE  OF 
JANUS. 


1  Serv.  ad  Aen.  vii.  607.      *  Dio  Cass.  Ixxiii.  13.   *  Verg.  Aen.  vii.  607 ;  i.  294. 

2  Liv.  i.  19.  «  Fast.  i.  258.  «  ££.  v.  165. 

»  Procop.  Bell.  Goth.  i.  25.  «  Mitt.  1902,  47.  9  Macrob.  Sat.  i.  9,  17. 

10  For  an  ingenious  but  unconvincing  theory  that  the  temple,  identical  with 
the  porta  lanualis,  was  a  gate  in  the  fortification  of  the  Septimontium,  which 
here  coincided  with  the  brook  Spinon,  and  that  the  story  of  a  flood  of  hot 


192  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

vance  of  the  victorious  Sabines,  and  from  this  event  the 
spot  was  called  Lautolae  (a  lavando).1  A  porta  lanualis,  how- 
ever, on  or  near  the  site  of  this  temple,  can  have  belonged 
neither  to  the  Palatine  nor  the  Servian  wall. 

The  Basilica  lulia.  —  The  regular  appearance  of  the  Forum 
was  due  in  large  measure  to  the  great  basilicas  which  bounded 
it  on  the  north  and  south  sides.  In  170  B.C.  Sempronius 
Gracchus  erected  the  basilica  Sempronia 2  behind  the  tabernae 
veteres,  but  nothing  further  is  known  of  this  building,  and  it 
and  the  tabernae  must  have  been  removed  to  make  room  for 
the  basilica  lulia.  This  was  begun  by  Julius  Caesar  in  54  B.C., 
dedicated  in  an  unfinished  state  in  46,  completed  by  Augustus, 
burned  soon  afterward,  and,  having  been  rebuilt  by  Augustus, 
dedicated  again  in  12  A.D.  in  the  names  of  Gaius  and  Lucius 
Caesar.3  There  are  indications  of  repairs  or  restorations  under 
the  Antonines,4  and  the  building  was  restored  by  Diocletian 
after  it  had  been  severely  injured  by  fire.  It  was  again  re- 
stored5 by  a  certain  Probianus,  prefect  of  the  city,  probably 
in  416  A.D.,  who  also  adorned  it  with  statues.  The  amount 
and  magnificence  of  the  marble  used  in  this  basilica  marked  it 
as  the  special  prey  of  the  vandals  of  the  middle  ages,  a  lime-kiln 
having  been  found  built  on  its  very  pavement.  In  the  sixth 
century  the  outer  aisle  on  the  west  side  was  converted  into  the 
church  of  S.  Maria  de  Cannapara.6- 

The  basilica  occupied  a  space  101  metres  long  and  49  wide, 


water  was  connected  with  this  stream,  see  Schneider,  Mitt.  1895, 172-178.  For 
other  recent  views,  see  Melanges,  1908,  258-261 ;  and  Binder,  Die  Plebs,  Leip- 
zig, 1909, 61-72. 

i  Varro,  LL.  v.  156.  . .         «  Liv.  xliv.  16 ;  Gilbert,  III.  214. 

8  Cic.  ad  Alt.  iv.  17.  8  (16.  14) ;  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  13;  Suet.  Aug.  29;  Jordan,  I. 
2.  385-391 ;  Gilbert,  III.  221-223. 

*  BC.  1871,  246. 

6  NS.  1883,  47-48;  GIL.  vi.  1156,  1658;  Mitt.  1902,  54;  Klio,  1902,  269-270. 

6  Cf.  BC.  1891,  229  ff. ;  Archivio  Storico  dell'  Arte,  1896, 164;  Frothingham, 
Monuments  of  Christian  Rome,  New  York,  1908,  83. 


THE   FORUM.  193 

bounded  on  all  sides  by  streets,  the  Sacra  via,  the  vicus  lugarius, 
the  vicus  Tuscus,  and  a  street  on  the  south  connecting  the  last 
two,  the  name  of  which  is  not  known.  In  the  later  restora- 
tions the  material  of  construction,  but  not  the  form,  of  the 
Augustan  basilica  was  changed.1  It  consisted  of  a  central 
court,  82  metres  long  and  16  wide,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by 
two  aisles,  T.50  metres  wide,  over  which  were  the  galleries  of  a 
second  story.2  These  aisles  were  formed  by  the  pillars  of  the 
facade,  which  were  of  marble,  and  by  inner  rows  of  similar 
pillars  made  of  brick  and  lined  with  marble.  The  first  floor 
of  the  basilica  was  therefore  an  open  arcade,  divided  by  the 
marble  balustrades  which  joined  the  pillars.  Of  these  pillars 
there  were  eighteen  on  each  of  the  longer  sides  and  eight, 
counting  the  ends  of  the  spur  walls,  on  the  shorter.  The 
entire  outside  of  the  basilica  was  constructed  originally  of 
white  marble,  and  on  the  outer  faces  of  its  pillars  were  en- 
gaged columns  of  the  Doric  order.  The  floor  of  the  basilica 
sloped  slightly  toward  the  northeast  corner,  and  was  paved 
with  slabs  of  marble,  colored  in  the  central  court  and  white 
in  the  aisles.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  central  area  was 
covered  with  a  wooden  roof,3  which  rose  above  the  roof  of  the 
side  aisles,  and  admitted  light  through  its  side  windows. 

A  continuous  flight  of  three  steps  leads  down  from  the  floor 
of  the  central  court  to  that  of  the  outer  aisle  in  front,  which, 
being  lower,  forms  a  sort  of  portico.  From  this  aisle  steps 
again  lead  down  to  the  street,  but  as  there  is  a  considerable 
grade  in  the  Sacra  via,  there  were  seven  steps  at  the  east  end 
and  only  one  at  the  west.  On  the  south  side  was  a  row  of 
rooms,  opening  on  the  street,  called  tabernae,  and  probably 
used  as  offices.  Some  of  these  rooms,  with  massive  tufa  walls, 
have  been  partially  excavated. 

The  existing  remains  consist  of  the  foundation,  with  frag- 


*  CR.  1901,  136;  Mitt.  1902,  60.  2  pi.  Epist.  vi.  33;  Suet.  Cal.  37. 

8  Stat.  Silv.  i.  1,  29;  Mart.  vi.  38.  6. 


194  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

ments  of  the  marble  pavement,  both  white  and  colored,  on 
which  are  inscribed  upwards  of  eighty  tabulae  lusoriae;1  the 
steps,  with  portions  of  the  marble  casing;  and  on  the  vicus 
lugarius  some  of  the  brick  pillars  and  arches  of  the  outer  aisles 
which  were  built  into  the  church  of  S.  Maria  in  Cannapara, 
together  with  some  fragments  of  the  marble  pillars  of  the 
outside.  Against  the  second  column  from  the  front  on  the 
west  end,  a  heavy  pier  of  masonry  was  built,  which  formed 
part  of  an  arch  across  the  vicus  lugarius.  Of  this  arch  noth- 
ing further  is  known.  Some  architectural  fragments  have 
been  found,  but  the  standing  column  of  travertine  and  many 
of  the  brick  piers  are  modern. 

The  Basilica  Aemilia.  —  In  179  B.C.  the  censors  M.  Aemilius 
Lepidus  and  M.  Fulvius  Nobilior  erected  a  basilica2  which  was 
called  either  the  Fulvia3  or  Aemilia  et  Fulvia.4  This  edi- 
fice was  decorated  with  metal  shields  and  probably  thoroughly 
restored  by  M.  Aemilius  Lepidus,  consul  in  78  B.C.5  Another 
restoration,  at  Caesar's  expense,  was  undertaken  in  54  B.C.  by 
the  aedile  M.  Aemilius  Lepidus,6  but  he  seems  not  to  have 
finished  the  work,  and  the  new  structure  was  completed  and 
dedicated  by  his  son  in  34  B.C.7  It  was  burned  in  14  B.C., 
and  again  rebuilt  at  the  expense  of  Augustus,8  but  in  the  name 
of  Aemilius.  It  had  become  a  sort  of  family  monument, 
and  was  regularly  known  as  the  basilica  Aemilia,  or  basilica 
Pauli. 

Some  parts  of  this  basilica  were  visible  as  late  as  the  six- 
teenth century,  but  they  were  destroyed  or  buried  soon  after- 
ward. As  a  result  of  the  recent  excavations,  however,  the 
larger  part  of  the  building  has  been  uncovered,  and  although 

i  Mitt.  1896,  227-252.  2  Liv.  xl.  51.  8  Plut.  Caes.  29. 

4  Varro,  LL.  vi.  4.  6  pi.  NH.  xxxv.  13;  Babelon,  Monnaies,  i.  129. 

6Cic.  ad  Alt.  iv.  16,  14;  App.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  2ti;  Stat.  Silv.  i.  1,  30 ;  Tac. 
Ann.  iii.  72.  7  Dio  Cass.  xlix.  42. 

«  Dio  Cass.  liv.  24;  Jordan,  I.  2.  391-394;  Gilbert,  III.  213,  221-222. 


THE   FORUM. 


195 


the  work  has  not  yet  been  completed,  its  general  plan  is  now 
known. 

The  basilica l  occupied  the  whole  space  between  the  temple 
of  Faustina  and  the  Argiletum,  and  the  ruins  which  have  been 
found  in  this  area  belong  to  four  successive  epochs,  —  the 
republican,  the  Augustan,  the  late  imperial,  and  the  medieval. 
The  first  lie  beneath  the  second,  and  consist  principally  of 
massive  walls  of  tufa,  some  of  which  have  been  worked  into 


FIG.  32.  —  PLAN  OF  THE  BASILICA  AEMiLiA.2 

the  foundations  of  the  Augustan  structure,  and  of  a  network 
of  drains,  some  of  them  very  ancient,  which  are  at  a  lower 
level  than  the  so-called  Cloaca  Maxima. 

So  far  as  can  be  known  from  the  excavations  up  to  date,  the 
Augustan  basilica  consisted  of  three  parts :  the  porticus,  or 
faqade  toward  the  Forum ;  the  tabernae,  or  rooms  opening 
into  the  porticus  ;  and  the  main  hall,  which  was  separated 
from  the  front  part  by  a  wall.  Four  steps  lead  from  the 
Forum  area  to  a  platform  0.75  metre  wide  and  two  more  to  the 
floor  of  the  porticus,  the  faqade  of  which  was  formed  by  an 

1  BC.  1899, 169-204;  1900,  3-8;  1903,  87-96;  Arch.  Am.  1900,  5-6;  Mitt.  1902, 
41-57;  1905,53-63;  CR.  1899,  465;  1900,237;  1901,136;  1902,95;  Atti,  566-570. 

2  The  central  hall  has  now  been  almost  entirely  excavated. 


196  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

arcade  of  sixteen  great  pillars,  besides  the  larger  piers  at  the 
ends,  of  white  marble,  with  engaged  half-columns  on  their 
outer  faces.  Only  the  base  of  the  pillar  (&,  Fig.  32)  at  the 
east  corner  was  found  standing,  but  the  travertine  foundations 
of  all  the  others  are  in  situ,  except  that  of  the  pillar  at  the 
west  corner.  Here  the  foundations  had  been  removed  bodily, 
and  the  entire  west  end 1  of  the  porticus  had  been  built  over, 
apparently  about  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
distance  between  these  pillars  was  5.41  metres,  and  from  14  to 
15  metres  behind  them  was  a  wall  of  tufa  which  seems  to  have 
been  built  originally  of  two  courses  of  stone,  1.20  metres  thick, 
separating  the  porticus  from  the  central  hall.  The  inner 
course  of  tufa  was  afterward  partly  replaced  by  a  brick  wall 
of  equal  thickness,  on  which  fragments  of  the  decoration  of  the 
hall  were  found.  From  this  main  wall,  spur  walls  7  metres 
long  projected  on  lines  corresponding  exactly  with  the  pillars 
of  the  facade,  and  formed  chambers  between  them,  7.15  metres 
in  depth  and  5.41  in  breadth.  These  chambers  have  been 
called  tabernae,  and  doubtless  served  as  offices  of  some  sort. 
The  spur  walls  ended  in  marble  pilasters,  of  one  of  which 
a  fragment  was  found  in  situ,  and  the  walls  themselves  were 
probably  covered  with  marble.  As  they  projected  7  metres 
from  the  main  wall,  the  space  between  them  and  the  pillars  of 
the  faqade  was  also  7  metres  wide,  thus  forming  a  corridor  of 
that  width  and  about  85  metres  long.  In  the  middle  taberna, 
the  main  wall  was  cut  through  and  a  doorway  3.80  metres 
wide  made,  of  which  the  threshold  is  still  in  situ,  and  there 
were  also  two  other  doorways,  east  and  west  of  that  in  the 
centre.  At.  the  east  end  of  the  row  of  tabernae  is  a  smaller 
room,  and  at  the  west  end  two,  which  may  have  contained 
staircases  to  the  upper  story.  The  west  end  of  the  basilica 
was  not  built  at  right  angles  to  the  main  axis  of  the  structure, 
because  of  the  Curia  opposite.  Across  the  east  end  of  the 

1  For  a  discussion  of  the  sixteenth-century  drawings  of  this  end  of  the 
basilica,  see  Mitt.  1902,  45-49;  1905,  54-56,  and  literature  there  cited. 


THE   FORUM. 


197 


porticus  is  a  sort  of  pavilion-like  hall.  Very  few  remains  have 
been  found  of  the  architectural  members  of  the  facade  of  this 
basilica  (of.  Fig.  33).  The  main  hall  was  probably  about  70 
metres  in  length.  Its  width  was  27  metres,  and  it  was  divided 
into  a  central  nave  12  metres  wide  and  three  aisles  5  metres  in 
width,  two  of  which  were  on  the  north  side.  The  pavement 


FIG.  33.  —  FRAGMENTS  FROM  THE  BASILICA  AEMILIA. 

of  this  main  hall  was  composed  of  slabs  of  colored  marble, 
many  of  which  are  in  situ.  Fastened  to  them  by  partial 
melting  are  many  coins  and  bits  of  metal,  the  evident  result 
of  a  fire  about  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century.  This  pave- 
ment was  then  covered  over  with  another.  The  side  aisles 
were  divided  from  the  nave  by  rows  of  columns  of  African 
marble,  0.85  metre  in  diameter,  with  Corinthian  capitals  and 
an  entablature  of  white  marble.  Over  the  aisles,  which  had 


198  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

wooden  ceilings,  were  galleries,  and  an  upper  row  of  columns 
stood  upon  the  lower,  of  the  same  marble,  but  only  0.55  metre 
in  diameter.  Many  fragments  of  these  columns  and  entabla- 
tures have  been  found,  and  they  exhibit  the  best  form  of 
Roman  decorative  art.  We  are  told  that  one  of  the  chief 
ornaments  of  this  basilica  was  twenty-four  columns  of  Phrygian 
marble,1  but  no  trace  of  them  has  yet  been  found.  The  main 
entrance  to  this  hall  must  have  been  at  the  west  end. 

At  a  much  later  period,  probably  in  the  early  part  of  the 
fifth  century,  the  porticus  underwent  a  complete  transforma- 
tion, and  in  place  of  the  great  marble  pillars,  about  twenty-five 
columns  of  red  granite  with  Corinthian  capitals  were  erected 
on  white  marble  pedestals,  with  an  intercolumnar  space  of  3.77 
metres.  These  columns  did  not  correspond  with  the  walls  of 
the  tabernae,  and  what  was  done  with  these  chambers  cannot  be 
discovered  from  the  ruins.  One  of  these  columns  only  (I,  Fig. 
32)  was  found  in  situ,  but  parts  of  three  others  (h,  i,  fc)  have 
been  set  up  in  their  proper  places. 

In  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries  the  basilica  was  more 
or  less  built  over,  and  walls  of  that  epoch,  with  pavements  of 
white  and  colored  marble,  are  visible,  especially  in  the  tabernae, 
where  there  was  evidently  a  sort  of  fortified  dwelling.  The 
threshold  (n,  Fig.  32)  of  one  of  the  doors  was  formed  by  one 
of  the  blocks  of  marble  from  the  Regia,  on  which  the  fasti  con- 
sulares  were  engraved.2  This  block  contains  part  of  the  lists 
of  the  years  380  and  331/330  B.C.,  but  some  of  the  inscription 
has  been  worn  away.  It  is  now  in  the  palazzo  dei  Conservatori. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  Forum,  near  the  Comitium  and  the 
cloaca,  was  a  shrine  of  Venus  Cloacina,3  which  probably  dated 
from  the  end  of  the  sixth  century  B.C.  At  the  edge  of  the  low- 

1  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  102;  cf.  Mitt.  1888,  95;  1889,  242. 

2  NS.  1899,  384;  EG.  1899,  204-213;  Arch.  Am.  1900,  6. 

8  Liv.  iii.  48;  PI.  NH.  xv.  119;  Plaut.  Cure.  471;  Cohen,  M4d.  Cons,  xxix, 
Mussidia,5,  6;  Mitt.  1893,  248;  1905,  62-63;  Wiener  Studien,  1902,  418-424; 
BC.  1900,  61-62;  1963,  97-99;  CR.  1901,  138. 


THE   FORUM.  199 

est  step  of  the  basilica,  near  the  west  end  and  directly  over  the 
drain  that  flows  under  the  basilica,  is  a  marble  base  (a,  Fig. 
32),  round,  except  on  the  west  side,  where  it  has  a  rectangular 
projection,  and  2.40  metres  in  diameter.  It  rests  on  a  slab  of 
travertine  and  eight  courses  of  tufa,  the  character  of  which 
shows  that  the  foundation  was  gradually  raised  as  the  basilica  en- 
croached upon  it.  Shape,  position  close  to  the  Cloaca  Maxima, 
and  especially  the  evidence  of  a  denarius  of  43  B.C.,  on  which 
the  sacellum  Cloacinae  is  represented,  make  the  identification 
of  this  base  as  that  of  the  shrine  in  question  practically  certain. 
At  the  south  corner  of  the  basilica  was  found  a  pile  of  broken 
blocks  of  marble,  which  has  not  been  disturbed.  Some  of  them 
belong  to  the  Augustan  basilica,  and  the  rest  are  of  unknown 
origin.  Most  noteworthy  are  three  very  large  pieces  which 
together  form  an  epistyle  l  5.75  metres  long  and  1.75  high,  on 
which  is  a  dedicatory  inscription  to  Lucius  Caesar.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  this  inscription,  together  with  another,  the  frag- 
ments of  which  were  found  near  by,  belonged  to  a  monument 
erected  in  honor  of  Augustus  near  the  east  end  of  the  basilica, 
and  in  front  of  the  temple  of  Julius  Caesar.  It  is  also  possible 
that  these  inscriptions  were  on  the  architrave  of  the  pavilion- 
like  structure  that  formed  the  east  end  of  the  basilica. 

The  Temenos  of  Vesta.  —  The  temenos  or  precinct  of  Vesta 
contained  originally  the  temple  of  Vesta,  the  dwelling  of  the 
Vestals,  the  sacred  grove2  (lucus),  the  so-called  domus  Publica,3 
or  official  residence  of  the  pontifex  maximus,  which  has  often 
been  confused  with  the  Regia,  and  the  Regia  itself.  Only  the 
first  three  belonged  to  the  Vestals  during  the  republic,  but 
in  12  B.C.  Augustus,  who  was  then  pontifex  maximus,  removed 
to  his  new  house  on  the  Palatine,  and  presented  the  domus 


.  1899,  141ff.,  pi.  xiii.xiv.  1;  1903,  83-86;  Arch..  Am.  1900,6;  Mitt.  1905, 
59-62. 

«Cic.  de  Div.  i.  101  ;  BC.  1905,  208-210  ;  Melanges,  1908,  238-240. 
8  Suet.  Goes.  46  ;  Jahrb.  d.  Inst.  1889,  247. 


200  TOPOGEAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

Publica  to  the  Vestals.1  All  these  buildings  had  the  same 
orientation,  —  north  and  south,  east  and  west,  —  corresponding 
with  that  of  the  republican  Comitium  at  the  other  end  of  the 
Forum,  and  formed  parts  of  a  single  group.  The  remains 2  of 
a  fine  house  of  the  republic,  which  are  visible  all  along  the 
north  side  of  the  atrium  and  below  its  level,  are  doubtless 
to  be  identified  with  the  domus  Publica,  which  may  have  been 
used  by  the  Vestals  in  its  original  shape  for  a  few  years  after 
it  was  given  to  them.  The  temple  was  probably  always  on 
the  same  site.  The  lucus,  which  originally  extended  along  the 
Nova  via  to  the  foot  of  the  Palatine,  was  encroached  upon,  and 
finally  destroyed  by  the  later  buildings. 

The  Temple  of  Vesta.  —  The  temple  of  Vesta  was  said  to  have 
been  built  by  Numa,3  but  it  was  outside  the  Palatine  pomerium, 
and  cannot  have  antedated  the  second  stage  of  the  city's  growth. 
It  was  perhaps  the  most  sacred  spot  in  Rome,  although  not  a 
consecrated templum* round  in  shape,5 and  contained  the  sacred 
fire,6  the  Palladium,7  and  other  sacra,  which  were  kept  in  a  se- 
cret recess  called  the  penus  Vestae,8  but  no  statue 9  of  the  god- 
dess herself.  The  temple  was  burned  in  390  and  in  241  B.C.,10 
again  in  the  fire  of  Nero,11  after  which  it  was  restored  by  the 
Flavians,  and  finally  in  191  A.D.,12  when  it  was  restored  by 
Julia  Domna,  the  wife  of  Septimius  Severus.13 

The  existing  remains14  of  the  temple  are  the  podium  and 

1  Dio  Cass.  liv.  27.  5  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  265-296;  Fest.  262. 

2  BC.  1903,  79-80.  6  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  297. 

»  Dionys.  ii.  65,  66.  7  Ov.  Trist.  iii.  1.  29. 

4Gell.  xiv.  7;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  vii.  153.         8  Fest.  250;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  iii.  12. 

»Ov.  Fast.  vi.  295-298. 

10  Liv.  Epit.  19;  Oros.  iv.  11 ;  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  437-454. 

"Tac.  Ann.  xv.  41.  12Dio  Cass.  Ixxii.  24;  Herodian,  i.  14. 

18  For  a  general  discussion  of  this  temple,  see  Jordan,  I.  2.  293,  421-423; 
Gilbert,  I.  301-310;  III.  405-415;  Altmann,  Rundbauten,  51-60. 

i*NS.  1883,  434-468;  1900,  159-191;  Nuova  Antologia,  fasc.  1,  Aug.  1900; 
BC.  1900,281-284;  1903,  57-69;  CR.  1899,  185;  1901,  139;  Mitt.  1902,  86-90; 
Atti,  525-530. 


THE   FORUM. 


201 


many  architectural  fragments.  The  podium  consists  of  four 
strata  of  concrete,  with  facings  of  opus  incertum  and  brick. 
The  lowest  stratum  is  a  circular  foundation  set  in  the  soil, 
15.05  metres  in  diameter  and  2.17  metres  thick.  On  this  rest 
the  three  others,  between  the  second  and  third  of  which  there 
is  a  very  thin  layer  of  bits  of  marble.  On  the  east  side,  and 


FIG.  34.  —  THE  PODIUM  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  VESTA. 


here  and  there  on  the  other  sides,  of  these  strata  are  some  tufa 
blocks,  which  were  the  foundation  of  the  marble  steps.  In  the 
centre  of  the  podium  is  a  cavity  of  trapezoidal  shape,  extending 
to  the  bottom  of  the  foundation,  a  depth  of  5  metres.  The 
sides  measure  between  2.30  and  2.50  metres  in  length.  This 
cavity,  or  favissa,  was  entered  from  the  floor  of  the  cella,  and 
may  have  been  the  receptacle  for  the  stercus,1  or  ashes  of  the 
sacred  fire,  which  was  removed  once  a  year  and  emptied  out  of 
the  porta  Stercoraria  (p.  295).  The  two  lowest  strata,  and 
probably  the  third,  belong  to  the  time  of  the  Flavians;  the 
uppermost,  to  that  of  Julia  Domna.  It  is  to  her  restoration 

i  Fest.  344. 


202 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  HOME. 


FIG.  35. —  THE  PERIBOLUS  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  VESTA. 

also  that  the  remaining  architectural  fragments  belong.    These 
fragments,  with  coins  l  of  the  period,  and  a  relief2  in  Florence 

1  Cohen,  M^d.  Imp.  iii,  pi.  ix.  p.  333,  and  Nos.  121-123,  205-209;  Dressel, 
Zeitschriftf.  Numismatik,  1899,  20-31. 

2  Mitt.  1892,  284-287 ;  1893,  285-286. 


THE   FORUM. 


203 


enable  us  to  reconstruct1  the  temple  with  considerable  accu- 
racy.    It  is  not  probable  that  the  structure  of  Domitian's  time 


FIG.  36.  —  PLAN  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  VESTA. 

varied  greatly  from  that  of  the  time  of  Severus,  except  in  the 
height  of  the  podium. 

A 

1  Jordan,  Der  Tempel  der  Vesta  u.  das  Haus  der  Vestalinnen,  1886;  Auer, 
Der  Tempel  der  Vesta  u.das  Haus  der  Vestalinnen,  Denkschriften  der  Wiener 
Akademie,  1888,  209-228;  Mitt.  1889,  245-247;  cf.  Boni,  NS.  1900,  185-189. 


204  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

The  temple  was  round,  peripteral,  and  built  of  white 
marble,  with  twenty  columns  connected  by  metal  gratings. 
The  roof  was  dome-shaped,  with  an  opening  in  the  centre  for 
the  exit  of  the  smoke  of  the  sacred  fire.  This  opening  must 
have  been  protected  by  metal  work  of  some  kind,  which  would 
also  allow  the  entrance  of  light.  Fragments  that  have  been 
found  seem  to  indicate  the  existence  of  at  least  one  window 
in  the  cella  wall.  The  shafts  of  the  columns  were  fluted,  0.51 
metre  in  diameter  and  about  4.45  metres  high,  with  Corinthian 
capitals.  Near  the  temple  were  statues  of  an  ox  and  a  ram. 
A  coin  of  Augustus l  seems  to  represent  the  temple  of  his  time 
as  Ionic  in  style.  On  the  north  and  southwest  sides  of  the 
temple  were  found  many  sacrificial  remains,  bones,  ashes, 
potsherds,  statuettes,  etc. 

The  Atrium  Vestae.  —  Aside  from  the  meagre  evidence  of 
coins,  we  are  mainly  dependent  upon  that  derived  from  the 
building  itself  for  our  knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  atrium 
Vestae,2  or  house  of  the  Vestals.  Recent  investigation 3  of  the 
existing  remains,  which  were  excavated  in  1883 4  and  1889- 
1902,5  has  shown  that  there  were  six  stages  in  the  development 
of  the  atrium.  That  of  the  republic  and  early  empire  was  im- 
mediately south  of  the  temple  and  adjoined  the  domus  Publica 
on  the  east,  with  the  same  north  and  south  orientation.  It  con- 
sisted of  a  small  court  with  rows  of  rooms  on  the  south  and 
west  sides,  and  remains  of  its  walls  and  pavements  are  still 


i  Cohen,  Aug.  250,  251 ;  Zeitschrift  f.  Numismatik,  1899,  pi.  I.  Nos.  3-8. 

2Ov.  Fast.  vi.  263;  Cell.  i.  12;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  vii.  153;  Jordan,  I.  2.  299, 
427 ;  Gilbert,  I.  304-305 ;  III.  408-410. 

3  Esther  B.  Van  Deman,  The  Atrium  Vestae,  Washington,  The  Carnegie 
Institution,  1909. 

*NS.  1883,  468-470,480-486;  Jordan,  Der  Tempel  der  Vesta,  25-40;  Auer, 
op.  cit.  209-222. 

6NS.  1899,  325-333;  1900,  159-191;  BC.  1899,  253-256;  1902,  30;  1903,70-78; 
Arch.  Anz.  1900,8-9;  (JR.  1899,  467;  1900,  238;  1901, 139;  1902,  284;  Mitt.  1902, 
90-92;  1905,94;  Atti,  539-547. 


206  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  KOME. 

visible  at  various  points  beneath  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
latest  building.  The  remains  of  the  domus  Publica,  which 
virtually  formed  a  part  of  the  original  atrium,  lie  along  the 
north  side  of  the  latest  building,  and  were  entirely  covered  up 
by  the  road  that  Nero  built  here  in  front  of  the  shops  (see  be- 
low). 

This  atrium  was  probably  destroyed  in  the  fire  of  Nero,  and 
rebuilt  by  him  in  different  form  and  with  a  different  orientation. 
It  now  consisted  of  a  trapezoidal  inclosure,  approximately  the 
size  of  the  later  building,  with  a  central  court  surrounded  with 
rooms  on  three  sides  and  part  of  the  fourth.  This  court  was 
not  so  large  as  that  of  the  latest  period,  and  the  eastern  part 
of  the  inclosure  was  a  garden,  probably  a  part  of  the  lucus. 
Outside  the  inclosure  wall  on  the  east  and  north  were  rows  of 
shops,  some  of  which  (Fig.  37)  were  not  destroyed  in  later 
restorations.  This  building  was  injured  by  fire  and  restored 
by  Domitian,  who  erected  a  colonnade  around  the  court,  and 
entirely  rebuilt  the  west  end.  Hadrian  seems  to  have  been  the 
next  to  modify  the  atrium,  principally  by  building  rooms 
across  the  east  end,  and  thereby  diminishing  the  area  of  the 
garden  by  more  than  one-half.  The  fifth  stage  of  develop- 
ment was  reached  under  the  Autonines,  who  filled  in  the  space 
at  the  corners  of  the  garden  with  rooms  and  erected  a  second 
and  third  story.  This  atrium  was  again  injured  in  the  fire  of 
Commodus,  and  finally  restored,  probably  by  Julia  Domna, 
the  court  being  lengthened  so  as  to  occupy  all  the  central  area. 
Minor  alterations  were  made  in  the  third  and  fourth  centuries, 
but  in  general  we  may  say  that  all  the  changes  effected  after 
the  time  of  Nero  were  merely  successive  steps  in  the  develop- 
ment of  his  building. 

The  atrium  after  the  last  restoration  consisted  of  an  open  peri- 
style, surrounded  on  all  sides  by  rooms  of  various  kinds,  in  two 
and  three  stories.  The  central  court  was  rectangular,  69  metres 
long  and  24  wide,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  colonnade  of  forty- 
eight  Corinthian  columns  of  cipollino.  These  columns  stood 


THE  FOKUM.  207 

about  4  metres  from  the  wall,  forming  a  corridor  of  that  width, 
and  leaving  an  open  court  60  by  15  metres  in  length  and 
breadth.  Above  these  columns  was  an  upper  arcade  of  the 
same  number  of  columns  of  breccia  corallina,  of  which  two 
have  been  preserved  uninjured  besides  numerous  fragments. 
Of  the  columns  of  the  lower  arcade  only  fragments  and  the 
travertine  foundations  are  preserved.  At  a  later  period  a  brick 
wall,  pierced  with  arches,  was  substituted  for  this  colonnade, 
and  the  cipollino  columns  were  sawn  into  slabs  for  other  pur- 
poses. The  latest  pavement  of  the  court  was  lava  mosaic  ;  but 
under  it  are  remains  of  a  slightly  older  one  of  opus  spicatum, 
some  of  which  dates  from  the  time  of  Severus,  and  beneath 
that  a  network  of  brick  drains  has  been  found,  which  run  under 
the  various  parts  of  the  building,  and  finally  flow  into  one 
large  cloaca  that  passes  out  at  the  northwest  corner.  At  the 
east  end  of  the  peristyle  is  a  piscina,  or  water  tank,  about  4 
metres  square,  and  at  the  opposite  end  is  another,  slightly 
larger.  Between  this  latter  tank  and  the  centre  of  the  peristyle 
is  a  third,  lined  with  marble  like  the  other  two,  of  about  the 
same  width,  but  about  13  metres  long  and  a  little  more  than 
1  metre  deep.  This  belonged  to  the  earlier  atrium  and  was 
filled  up  when  the  court  was  finally  enlarged.  Over  one  end 
of  this  piscina,  in  the  centre  of  the  enlarged  peristyle,  is  a 
pattern  in  brickwork,  an  octagon  inclosing  a  circle,  the  radii  of 
which  are  prolonged  from  the  circumference  to  the  angles  of  the 
octagon.  Whether  this  is  all  that  is  left  of  the  foundation  of 
a  pavilion  or  summer-house,  or  of  a  sort  of  curb  which  might 
have  inclosed  a  flower  bed,  is  uncertain.  The  walls  of  the 
peristyle,  and  in  general  the  walls  of  all  the  adjoining  rooms 
except  those  which  were  for  the  most  domestic  uses,  were  mag- 
nificently decorated  with  linings  of  colored  marbles,  of  which  a 
little  has  been  found  in  place. 

At  the  east  end  of  the  peristyle,  the  corridor  is  paved  with 
colored  marbles  instead  of  mosaic,  and  from  it  four  steps  lead 
up  between  two  columns  into  a  hall,  which  is  also  paved  with 


208  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

magnificent  marbles,  and*  out  of  which  six  smaller  rooms  open, 
three  on  each  side.  The  hall  is  usually  called  the  tablinum. 

South  of  this  group  is  a  small  hall  (23)  in  which  were  built 
in  the  time  of  the  Antonines  a  sort  of  vaulted  cellar,  perhaps 
ihepenusof  the  household,  and  a  large  water  tank.  In  the 
wall  above  this  tank  are  niches,  perhaps  for  the  Penates,  and 
a  staircase  leading  to  a  series  of  rooms  that  formed  a  mezzanino. 
At  the  northeast  corner  are  other  rooms,  in  which  are  remains 
of  the  earlier  tufa  walls,  and  in  one  of  them  a  square,  altar 
made  of  ashes  and  sacrificial  matter,  covered  with  stucco  and 
surrounded  by  a  stone  gutter,  which  belonged  to  the  house  of 
the  republic.  Very  little  is  left  of  the  rooms  on  the  north  side  of 
the  peristyle ;  but  they  were  large,  and  perhaps  served  as  public 
reception  rooms  and  offices.  Outside  the  north  wall  of  the 
building  was  a  row  of  tabernae,  opening  on  the  Sacra  via ;  and 
under  and  in  front  of  them  are  the  remains  of  several  rooms 
of  the  doinus  Publica,  with  well-preserved  mosaic  pavements. 

At  the  west  end  of  the  court  are  three  rooms  (49-51)  of  un- 
known use,  and  behind  them  a  series  of  small  rooms  (52-55), 
cut  off  from  the  atrium  and  opening  into  the  temple  area. 
Many  fragments  of  clay  vessels  were  found  in  one  (52)  of 
these  rooms,  and  they  may  have  served  as  storerooms  for  the 
instrumentum  of  the  cult.  South  of  these  rooms  is  another 
group  (45-47)  consisting  of  a  large  apartment,  with  an  apse 
and  adjoining  rooms,  which,  being  remote  from  the  temple 
and  accessible  by  stairways  from  the  ramp  leading  up  to  the 
Palatine,  may  have  been  connected  with  some  other  cult, 
perhaps  that  of  the  Lares.  The  remains  of  the  original  build- 
ing are  numerous  at  this  west  end.  Some  of  the  rooms  on  the 
east,  west,  and  north  sides  were  heated  by  hypocausts,  the 
floors  being  double,  and  the  walls  lined  with  flues.  The  rooms 
on  the  south  side  of  the  peristyle  were  especially  exposed  to 
dampness.,  because  they  were  built  against  the  cliff  of  the 
Palatine,  and  were  cut  off  from  the  sunlight  by  the  lofty 
palace  on  the  hill.  In  the  successive  restorations  inner  walls 


THE  FORUM.  209 

were  built  in  nearly  all  these  rooms,  and  an  air  space,  more 
than  a  metre  in  width,  left  between  them  and  the  outer  wall, 
while  hypocausts  were  built  beneath.  The  floor  level  was 
also  raised,  0.70  metre  on  the  average,  and  the  removal  of  this 
later  floor  has  exposed  to  view  in  several  of  the  rooms  an 
earlier  mosaic  of  opus  sectile.  In  one  room  nearly  the  whole 
pavement  of  giallo  antico,  pavonazzetto,  and  Porta  santa  has 
been  preserved. 

The  central  rooms  on  the  south  side  are  of  uncertain  purpose, 
but  the  first  three  at  the  east  end  seem  to  have  belonged  to 
the  culinary  department  of  the  house,  as  one  (32)  contains 
ovens,  and  another  (33)  a  mill,  although  this  is  probably  of 
very  late  date.  Behind  the  fourth  and  fifth  is  a  staircase 
leading  to  the  second  story,  and  at  the  west  end  are  two  other 
staircases.  Behind  the  last  room  is  a  corridor,  the  door  of 
which  had  been  walled  up ;  and  in  this  corridor,  in  the  opening 
of  a  brick  drain,  was  found  a  hoard  of  three  hundred  and 
ninety-seven  gold  coins,1  which  had  evidently  been  placed  in 
a  bag  and  thrown  into  this  drain  for  concealment.  These  coins 
date  from  335  to  467-472  A.D.  The  Vestals  were  driven  from 
their  house  in  382  A.D.,2  and  it  is  supposed  that  the  atrium 
then  became  the  residence  of  imperial  officials,  who  fled  about 
470  to  escape  some  invasion  from  the  North.  In  1883  a  hoard 
of  eight  hundred  and  thirty  Anglo-Saxon  coins,  dating  down 
to  the  middle  of  the  tenth  century,  was  found  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  atrium.8 

The  third  story  has  entirely  disappeared,  and  what  remains 
of  the  second,  at  the  southeast  corner,  seems  to  have  consisted 
principally  of  elaborate  baths,  which  were  installed  after  the 
time  of  Severus  in  rooms  originally  belonging  to  the  sleeping 
apartments.  Set  up  round  the  peristyle  are  the  fragments  of 
the  many  statues*  of  the  Vestals,  belonging  for  the  most  part 

l  NS.  1899,  327-330.  2  Zos.  v.  38.  «  NS.  1883,  487-514. 

*  Jordan,  Der  Tempel  der  Vesta,  44-49,  and  pi.  VIII-X ;  AJP.  1908, 172-178 ; 
AJA.  1908,  324-342. 


210  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

to  the  third  century,  with  inscribed  pedestals.     The  pedestals 
and  the  statues,  however,  do  not  belong  together. 

The  main  entrance  to  the  atrium  was  at  the  northwest 
corner,  and  close  by  it  is  the  podium,  about  3  by  2  metres  in 
dimensions,  of  an  aedicula  Vestae.1  As  the  temple  itself  did  not 
contain  any  statue  of  the  goddess,  the  aedicula  was  probably 
erected  for  this  purpose.  Some  fragments  of  the  marble  lin- 
ing and  plinth  are  in  situ;  and  the  entablature  with  an  inscrip- 
tion of  the  time  of  Hadrian  which  records  a  restoration, 
together  with  numerous  architectural  fragments,  have  been 
found.  The  entablature  has  recently  been  placed  upon  a 
column  and  a  brick  pier. 

The  Regia.  —  The  Kegia2  is  said  to  have  been  built  and  dwelt 
in  by  Numa,3  and  it  is  also  said  to  have  been  the  house  of  the 
rex  sacrificulus  and  of  the  pontifex  maximus.4  In  historical 
times,  however,  it  was  a  consecrated  fanum,  the  official  head- 
quarters of  the  pontifex  maximus,  and  is  to  be  carefully  distin- 
guished from  the  house  of  the  rex  sacrificulus  on  the  Velia, 
and  the  domus  Publica  (p.  199).  It  contained  the  sacrarium 
Martis,5  in  which  the  sacred  spears  and  shields  (ancilia)  were 
kept,  the  sacrarium  Opis  Oonsivae,6  the  archives  of  the  pontifices, 
and  a  place  of  assembly  for  various  sacred  colleges.  The 
Kegia  was  burned  and  restored  in  210,  148,7  and  36  B.C.  This 
last  restoration8  was  carried  out  by  Cn.  Doinitius  Calvinus, 
who  erected  a  building  which,  although  small,  must  have  been 
of  unusual  beauty. 


1CI.  Cic.  de  Nat.  Deor.  in.  80;  de  Or.  iii.  10;  Liv.  Epit.  86;  Jordan,  Der 
Tempel  der  Vesta,  25-28;  Top.  I.  2.  290-291. 

2 Jordan,  I.  2.  302-304,  423-429;  Gilbert,  I.  225-227,  305-310,  341-352;  III. 
407-410. 

sSolin.  i.  21;  Ov.  Trist.  iii.  1.  30;  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  41. 

*  Fest.  278-279;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  viii.  363. 

SGell.  iv.  6;  Liv.  xl.  19;  Dio  Cass.  xliv.  17;  Jordan,  II.  271-278. 

6  Varro,  LL.  vi.  21 ;  Fest.  186.  7  Liv.  xxvi.  27 ;  Obseq.  19. 

8  Dio  Cass.  xlviii.  42;  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  48. 


THE  FORUM.  211 

Its  site  has  now  been  completely  excavated,  and  the  existing 
ruins1  belong  to  three  periods,  the  republican,  the  imperial,  and 
the  medieval.  Of  the  superstructure  of  the  first  two  periods, 
almost  nothing  remains  except  the  lowest  courses  of  some  of 
the  walls  and  many  architectural  fragments.  The  republican 
remains  are  found  only  in  the  foundations  of  the  later  struc- 
ture, and  have  been  built  over  so  many  times  that,  no  recon- 
struction of  the  original  building  is  possible,  but  it  probably 
extended  farther  to  the  west  and  south  than  the  Regia  of 
Calvinus.  After  his  restoration,  the  Eegia  was  shaped  like  an 
irregular  pentagon,  filling  the  space  between  the  Sacra  via,  the 
temenos  of  Vesta,  and  the  temple  of  Julius  Caesar,  and  con- 
sisting of  parts  unsymmetrically  joined  together. 

The  principal  part  was  trapezoidal  (Tdmn,  Fig.  38),  with  a 
mean  length  of  about  22  metres  and  a  width  of  8  metres. 
Unlike  most  Roman  buildings,  this  was  built  of  solid  blocks 
of  white  marble.  On  the  west  and  south  sides  were  inscribed 
in  four  double  panels  the  fasti  consulares,  and  on  the  pilasters 
•of  the  south  side,  the  fasti  triumphales.  Many  of  the  frag- 
ments of  these  blocks  have  been  preserved.2  Fig.  39  represents 
the  architectural  arrangement  of  these  panels,  and  also  of  the 
building  itself. 

The  interior  was  divided  into  three  rooms,  in  the  largest  of 
which  was  found  a  pavement  of  tufa  blocks,  and  on  this  a  cir- 
cular substructure  (d,  Fig.  38)  of  gray  tufa,  2.53  metres  in 
diameter,  dating  from  the  early  period.3  There  was  a  doorway 
(c)  in  the  original  building,  but  it  was  roughly  widened  for 
the  medieval  house,  and  two  rude  steps  placed  in  front  of  it. 

The  irregular  space  between  this  part  of  the  Regia  and  the 

*  Mitt.  1886,  94-98,  99-111;  1902,  62-66;  1905,  77-80;  Archaeologia,  1887,  227- 
250;  Jahrb.  d.  Inst.  1889,  228-253;  NS.  1899,  220-223,  384-386,  486-488;  BC. 
1899, 205-213 ;  1903,  42-55 ;  OR.  1899,  322,  466 ;  1901, 139 ;  Arch.  Am.  1900,  6-8 ; 
Atti,  518-525. 

"Mitt.  1904,  117-123;  1905,  77-80;  NS.  1904,  8-10;  BC.  1904,  188;  Wiener 
Studien,  1902,  324-335. 

8  The  top  layer  of  stone  is  modern. 


212 


TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 


Sacra  via  was  occupied  by  aii  open  court,  with  a  covered  ante- 
chamber at  the  east  end,  where  the  main  entrance  seems  to 
have  been.  The  greatest  width,  north  and  south,  of  the  area 


FIG.  38.  —  PLAN  OF  THE  KEGIA. 

of  the  Eegia  was  about  27  metres,  and  the  least  about  12 
metres.  The  court  was  paved  with  slabs  of  marble,  and  in 
it  are  two  wells  and  a  cistern,  which  date  from  a  very  early 
time.  One  of  these  wells  (h)  is  14.35  metres  deep  and  0.69 
in  diameter,  and  contained  pieces  of  fire-marked  tufa,  terra- 


THE   FOKUM. 


213 


cotta  weights,  and  potsherds.  The  other  well  contained  noth- 
ing of  interest.  The  cistern  (/),  shaped  like  a  tholus,  4.36 
metres  deep  and  3.02  in  diameter  at  the  bottom,  with  tufa 
walls  and  a  bottom  of  opus  signinum,  contained  fragments  of 
amphorae  and  Arretine  vases,  eighty-two  bone  stili,  part  of  an 
oaken  writing-tablet,  and  a  fragment  of  a  marble  curb,  on 
which  was  the  word  REGIA  in  letters  of  republican  date. 


FIG.  39.  —  THE  REGIA  RESTORED. 

Near  this  cistern  is  a  base  (g)  of  tufa  blocks,  on  which  there  are 
traces  of  a  circular  superstructure,  to  which  probably  belongs 
a  fragment  of  peperino  found  near  by,  with  the  inscription 
A.  COVRI. 

At  the  southwest  end  of  the  marble  building  is  a  small  room 
(nmp)  paved  with  black  and  white  mosaic.  Near  it  in  the  wall 
was  found  a  fragment  of  an  epistyle  with  part  of  an  inscrip- 
tion,1 —  the  other  part  of  which  was  already  known,  —  which 

I NS.  1899,  128;  J3C.  1899, 146;  Mitt.  1902,  65-66. 


214  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT  HOME. 

proves  the  existence  in  or  near  the  Regia  of  a  schola  kalatorum 
pontificum.  No  identification  of  any  of  the  existing  divisions 
of  the  ruins  with  any  of  the  ancient  parts  of  the  Regia  is 
possible. 

In  the  seventh  or  eighth  century  the  Regia  was  transformed 
into  a  private  house,  the  traces  of  which  are  visible  in  all  parts 
of  the  area,  but  especially  along  the  Sacra  via,  where  the  house 
was  approached  by  a  flight  of  two  steps  (ab~),  roughly  made  of 
marble  and  travertine  and  20  metres  long.  Above  them  stood 
a  row  of  cipollino  columns  with  'bases  of  red  granite,  which 
had  been  taken  from  some  ancient  building  and  formed  the 
entrance  to  this  house. 

Between  the  south  wall  of  the  Regia  and  the  temenos  of 
Vesta  is  another  well  of  republican  date,1  about  5  metres  deep, 
built  of  tufa. 

The  Lacus  luturnae.  —  The  most  famous  spring  near  the 
Forum  was  that  of  Juturna,2  which  was  known  to  be  close  to 
the  temple  of  Castor.  This  part  of  the  Forum  has  now  been 
excavated,  and  the  triangular  space'  between  the  temple  of 
Castor  and  the  atrium  Vestae  may  be  called  the  precinct  of 
Juturna.  The  existing  ruins3  belong  principally  to  the  im- 
perial period,  but  there  are  some  of  earlier  date.  In  the  centre 
of  the  precinct  is  the  lacus  (fgki,  Fig.  40),  a  basin  2.12  metres 
deep,  the  bottom  of  which  measures  5.13  by  5.04  metres.  In 
the  middle  of  the  basin  is  a  quadrilateral  base  (w>)  1.78  metres 
high  and  about  3  long  by  2  wide.  The  basin  is  paved  with 
marble  slabs,  beneath  which  are  some  tufa  remains  with  a 
different  orientation,  which  belong  to  the  earlier  structure. 
The  lower  walls  of  opus  reticulatum  rise  to  the  same  height 


i  BC.  1903, 66. 

2Ov.  Fast.  i.  706;  Dionys.  vi.  13;  Jordan,  I.  2.  371;  Lanciani,  Acque,  13-14; 
Herschel,  Frontinus,  132-133. 

8NS.  1900,  291-295;  1901,  41-144;  BC.  1900,  67-74,  285-295;  1903,  166-198; 
CR.  1901, 139;  Mitt.  1902,  67-74;  1905,  81-82;  Atti,  530-539. 


THE  FOEUM. 


215 


216  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

on  three  sides  as  the  base  just  mentioned,  and  this  appears  to 
have  been  the  level  of  the  precinct  in  republican  times,  corre- 
sponding to  that  of  the  pavements  in  front  of  the  temple  of 
Castor.  On  this  wall  is  a  ledge  about  1.50  metres  wide,  and 
round  this  a  later  wall  of  opus  incertum,  1.23  metres  high,  on 
which  is  a  travertine  curbing.  There  are  indications  of  marble 
or  metal  balustrades  on  this  curbing  and  on  the  ledge  below. 
At  the  top  the  basin  measures  about  10  metres  square.  At  the 
northeast  and  northwest  corners  of  the  pavement  of  the  basin 
are  the  two  springs  by  which  it  has  always  been  fed,  which 
are  now  flowing  freely.  The  whole  inner  surface  of  this  basin 
was  lined  with  marble,  much  of  which  is  in  situ.  The  east 
side  of  the  basin  has  been  entirely  changed  by  being  built  over 
in  the  fourth  century,  in  order  to  enlarge  the  room  at  the 
east  (e).  A  number  of  pieces  of  a  beautifully  executed  frieze 
of  palmettes  were  found  in  the  lacus  and  adjacent  parts  of  the 
Forum,  enough  to  extend  a  distance  of  15  metres.  Other 
fragments  of  this  or  a  similar  frieze  exist  elsewhere  in  Rome.1 
About  4  metres  south  of  the  lacus  is  a  group  belonging  to 
the  precinct,  and  composed  of  an  altar  (ri),  a  well  with  marble 
curb  or  puteal,  and  a  shrine  (o)  of  the  goddess  Juturna.  The 
puteal  is  0.968  metre  high,  with  decorated  plinth  and  cornice. 
On  the  edge  of  the  puteal  and  on  its  front  is  an  inscription,2 
which  states  that  it  was  restored  and  dedicated  by  M.  Barbatius 
Pollio,  probably  the  partisan  of  Marcus  Antonius.3  Close  to 
the  front  of  the  puteal  is  a  large  slab  of  marble,  and  on  this 
was  found  a  marble  altar,  lying  on  its  face,  on  which  are  sculp- 
tured a  male  and  female  figure  in  the  style  of  the  time  of 
Severus.  Slab  and  altar  had  been  used  as  steps  to  the  puteal, 
which  seems  to  have  been  too  high  for  the  convenient  drawing 
of  water  at  this  later  period.  The  base  of  the  puteal  had  also 
been  covered  up  with  pozzolana.  The  level  of  the  spring  in 
this  well  is  the  same  as  that  of  those  in  the  basin. 

*Mitt.  1905,  81-82.  2  Mitt.  1902,  70.  8Cic.  Phil.  xiii.  3. 


THE   FORUM. 


217 


.  ••''"'•'_"   V'  'j  .,'  '"".    -;—.-'   .•  :."-.' 

FIG.  41. — THE  PRECINCT  OF  JUTURNA. 


. 
*  -  -»  .  -  • 

v  »«i  ••  '  • 


Immediately  behind  and  somewhat  higher  than  the  puteal 
is  a  brick  foundation  on  which  stands  the  aedicula  luturnae 
(o),  which  consisted  of  a  cella  and  prouaos,  with  two  marble 


218 


TOPOGKAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


columns.     Of  these  columns  there  are  no  remains.     A  statue 
of  the  goddess  undoubtedly  stood  in  the  apse  of  this  aedicula, 


and  a  fragment  of  the  epistyle  was  found  near  by,  with  the 
inscription  IVTVENAI  S. 

The  inclined  way  from  the  Forum  to  the  Palatine  started 
near  the  temple  of  Vesta,  and  ascended  along  the  wall  of  the 


THE   FORUM.  219 

atrium  (xy),  supported  by  a  series  of  arches,  under  which  are 
chambers  (c,  d)  opening  on  the  corridor.  The  room  e,  with 
three  niches  in  the  east  wall,  has  been  enlarged  by  taking 
down  the  wall  between  the  two  adjoining  chambers,  destroying 
the  original  west  wall,  and  building  out  over  the  lacus,  as 
previously  described.  In  this  room  and  the  next  (m)  there  is 
a  pavement  of  tiles  laid  over  an  early  one  of  opus  spicatum. 
On  the  west  side  of  the  corridor  are  two  other  rooms  (a,  6),  and 
in  the  corridor  itself  are  three  pavements,  the  earliest  of  opus 
spicatum,  the  next  of  tiles,  and  the  latest  of  white  and  black 
mosaic.  In  these  rooms  have  been  found  many  fragments  of 
inscriptions 1  relating  to  the  curatores  aquarum  and  the  static 
aquarnm,  or  headquarters  of  the  water  department  of  Rome. 
One  of  these  records  a  restoration  of  the  static  by  Fl.  Maesius 
Egnatius  Lollianus  in  328  A.D.,  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
enlargement  just  described  took  place  at  that  time,  when  the 
static  was  in  the  precinct  of  Juturna.  When  this  office  was 
first  established  here  is  not  known.2 

Many  remains  of  sculpture  were  found  here,  among  them  a 
marble  altar  in  the  lacus,  similar  to  that  at  the  shrine,  with 
beautiful  reliefs,  fragments  of  the  Dioscuri  of  life  size,3  and  a 
statue  of  Aesculapius  in  front  of  the  niche  in  room  e.  The 
large  number  of  medieval  potsherds,  now  stored  in  room'  d, 
shows  that  fohe  springs  were  in  use  at  a  late  date. 

Immediately  south  of  the  aedicula,  at  a  higher  level,  is  a 
large  hall  (p)  with  an  apse,  which  completely  blocks  the  Nova 
via  (p.  164)  and  probably  dates  from  about  the  same  period 
as  the  enlargement  of  the  statio  aquarum.  In  the  middle 
ages  this  became  an  oratory.  No  trace  has  been  found  of  the 
sacellum  Larum  *  (p.  131),  which  is  described  as  being  one  of 

1  NS.  1901, 129-131;  BC.  1900,  72;  Mitt.  1902,  72-73. 

2  For  an  ingenious  suggestion  as  to  the  possible  use  made  of  these  rooms 
before  the  establishment  of  the  statio,  see  JJ.  1902,  370-388. 

a  Mitt.  1900,  338-349. 

*Tac.  Ann.  xii.  24;  CR.  1905,  76. 


220  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

the  points  in  the  first  pomerium,  and  is  supposed  to  have  stood 
at  this  corner  of  the  hill. 

The  Rostra.  —  The  Eostra l  was  the  famous  platform  from 
which  the  Roman  orators  addressed  the  people.  Such  a  plat- 
form must  have  existed  from  very  early  times,  but  the  name 
rostra  was  applied  to  it  after  338  B.C.,  when  C.  Maenius 2  deco- 
rated the  suggestus,  either  that  already  in  existence  or  a  new  one, 
with  the  rostra  of  the  ships  captured  at  Antium.  This  platform 
stood  on  the  south  side  of  the  republican  Comitiuin  (p.  228), 
so  that  from  it  the  speaker  could  address  the  people  assembled 
either  on  the  Comitium  or  in  the  Forum.3  It  was  consecrated 
as  a  templum,4  and  on  it  were  placed  statues 5  of  famous  men, 
in  such  numbers  that  at  intervals  the  platform  had  to  be  cleared 
in  order  to  make  room  for  new  claimants  for  the  honor.  On 
this  Eostra,  or  close  by,  was  the  columna  rostrata,6  a  column 
ornamented  with  beaks  of  ships,  and  erected  in  honor  of  C. 
Duilius  Nepos,  the  victor  at  Mylae  in  260  B.C.  The  column 
and  its  archaic  inscription  were  restored  by  Augustus  or  Tibe- 
rius (or  possibly  Claudius),  and  part  of  the  restored  inscrip- 
tion has  been  preserved.  This  Eostra  kept  its  place  on  the 
Comitium  throughout  the  republic,  and  was  the  most  distinctive 
symbol  of  the  old  regime. 

Caesar  decided  to  remove  the  Eostra  to  the  Forum,  but  his 
definite  plan  seems  not  to  have  been  carried  out,  or  at  least 
the  dedication  not  to  have  taken  place,  until  after  42  B.C.7  Au- 
gustus seems  to  have  rebuilt  the  Eostra,  incorporating  in  it  part 


l  Jordan,  I.  2.  353-356 ;  Gilbert,  III.  151-155,  172-173. 

«Liv.  viii.  14;  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  20. 

«  Varro,  LL.  v.  155;  Diodor.  xii.  26;  Ascon.  in  Mil.  p.  37. 

<Liv.  ii.  56;  Cic.  in  Vatin.  24. 

6  Liv.  iv.  17 ;  viii.  13 ;  Cic.  Phil.  ix.  16,  and  f req. ;  cf .  Jacobi,  Grundziige 
einer  Museographie  der  Stadt  Rom,  52-53. 

6  PL  NH.  xxxiv.  20;  Quint,  i.  7. 12;  Serv.  ad  Georg.  iii.  29;  GIL.  vi.  1300; 
Ber.  d.  k.  bayerisch.  Akademie,  1890,  293-321. 
s.  xliii.  49. 


THE   FORUM. 


221 


of  the  Julian  structure,  and  most  of  the  existing  remains  belong 
to  this  period.  Thenceforth  the 
Rostra  of  the  empire  was  a  long 
platform  extending  across  the  west 
end  of  the  Forum.  It  was  re- 
modelled by  Severus,  lengthened 
in  the  fifth  century,  and  is  repre- 
sented in  a  famous  relief  on  the 
arch  of  Constantine. 

The  existing  remains1  seem  to 
be  divided  into  two  parts,  a  rect- 
angular structure  (gj,  Fig.  46)  in 
front,  and  the  so-called  hemicycle 
behind.  The  rectangular  structure 
is  about  24  metres  long,  10  deep, 
and  3  high.  The  front  and  side 
walls  are  built  of  opus  quadratum 
of  tufa,  and  the  rear  wall  is  a  mass 
of  brick-faced  concrete.  The  trav- 
ertine slabs  of  the  platform  were 
supported  by  these  walls  and  by 
three  rows  of  travertine  piers,  which 
were  in  later  times  partly  replaced 
and  partly  strengthened  by  brick 
piers  and  walls.  This  was  neces- 
sitated by  the  increasing  weight  of 
the  statues  and  honorary  columns 
which  were  set  up  on  the  Rostra. 
A  marble  balustrade  extended  along 
the  sides  and  front  of  the  platform, 
except  in  the  centre,  where  there 


1Richter,  Rekonstruktion  und  Ge- 
achichte  der  RSm.  Red  nerbii  fine,  1884; 
Jahrb.  d.  Inst.  1889,  1-17 ;  Mitt.  1889,  238- 
239;  1902,  17-20;  BC.  1903,  158. 


222 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


was  an  opening.  The  faqade  was  lined  with  marble,  with 
plinth  and  cornice,  and  divided  into  twenty  compartments  by 
pilasters,  of  bronze,  and  bronze  strips  above  the  plinth  and 
under  the  cornice.  In  the  centre  of  each  compartment  a  bronze 


Fia.  44.  —  THE  FRONT  OF  THE  ROSTRA  RESTORED. 

beak  was  fixed,  and  a  second  row  of  beaks,  below  these,  was 
fixed  to  the  pilasters,  making  thirty-nine  in  all.  These  beaks 
were  made  for  the  purpose,  and  not  actually  taken  from  ships. 
The  approach  was  from  the  rear,  and  the  marble  balustrades 
(p.  263)  now  standing  on  the  pavement  of  the  Forum  may  pos- 
sibly have  stood  either  on  each  side  of  this  approach,  or  on  the 
two  shorter  sides  of  the  platform,  in  place  of  the  marble  screen. 
At  some  later  period  most  of  the  north  wall  (M,  Fig.  46)  of 
the  Rostra  was  removed,  and  the  north  part  of  the  back  wall 
(hf)  of  brick-faced  concrete  was  cut  down  to  the  level  of  the 
pavement.  At  the  south  end,  however,  part  of  this  wall  and 
the  concrete  mass  behind  it  is  still  standing,  reduced  to  half 
its  original  height.  The  space  between  the  east  and  west  walls 
was  paved  with  tiles  laid  over  an  earlier  opus  spicatum,  much 
of  which  is  still  in  situ.  At  a  much  later  date  this  rectangular 
part  of  the  Rostra  was  lengthened  by  a  trapezoidal  brick  addi- 


THE  FORUM. 


223 


tion  (jm)  at  the  north  end,  the  facade  of  which  was  also  deco- 
rated with  beaks.  On  some  of  the  marble  blocks  which  took 
the  place  of  a  cornice  was  an  inscription,  fragments  of  which 
have  been  recovered,  recording  the  restoration  by  Junius  Va- 
lentinus  in  honor  of  two  Augusti,  perhaps  Leo  and  Anthemius.1 


FIG.  45. — THE  REAR  OF  THE  ROSTRA  RESTORED. 

The  so-called  hemicycle 2  consists  of  a  curved  faqade  gener- 
ally supposed  to  have  been  as  long  as  the  Rostra,  although  this 
is  open  to  doubt,  and  a  flight  of  five  travertine  steps,  equally 
wide,  which  leads  up  from  the  level  of  the  clivus  Capitolinus 
to  the  top  of  the  facade  on  the  inner  side  of  the  curve.  It  thus 
formed  a  retaining  wall  for  the  higher  level  of  the  area  Con- 
cordiae.  The  steps  of  the  north  half  are  well  preserved,  but 
of  the  south  half  only  the  core  of  opus  incertum  is  left. 
The  top  of  the  hemicycle  was  only  2  metres  wide  and  paved 
with  travertine,  and  on  its  north  half  at  least  was  a  colonnade. 
The  faqade  was  decorated  with  slabs  of  Porta  santa  marble, 
with  a  plinth  of  Pentelic  marble,  and  a  cornice,  only  fragments 
of  which  have  been  found. 

i  Mitt.  1895,  59-60;  1902, 19. 

*Mitt.  1902,  17-19;  CR.  1901,  88;  J3C.  1903,  158-159. 


224 


TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


THE   FORUM.  225 

With  regard  to  the  structural  history  of  the  Rostra,  and  the 
relation  of  rectangle  and  hemicycle,  two  views  are  now  held. 
According  to  one,1  the  hemicycle  is  the  original  Rostra  of 
Julius  Caesar,  which  preserved  the  curved  form  of  the  Rostra 
of  the  Comitium  (p.  236).  At  a  later  time,  perhaps  by  Trajan, 
the  rectangle  was  built,  which  entirely  concealed  the  facade  of 
the  hemicycle  and  completely  changed  the  character  of  the 
structure. 

According  to  the  other 2  view,  the  Rostra  of  Julius  Caesar 
was  for  the  most  part  incorporated  in  the  Rostra  built  by  Au- 
gustus, which  consisted  of  the  rectangular  portion  (gj,  Fig.  46) 
and  the  solid  mass  of  concrete  behind  with  its  brick  facing  (yh). 
This  concrete  mass  served  as  the  foundation  for  the  curved 
flight  of  steps  on  the  west  extending  across  the  whole  length 
of  the  Rostra  and  forming  a  monumental  approach  (Fig.  45)  to 
the  platform  itself,  which  was  more  than  12  metres  wide. 
This  continued  to  be  the  shape  of  the  Rostra  until  the  end  of 
the  second  century,  when,  in  consequence  of  the  erection  of  the 
arch  of  Severus,  the  structure  was  restored  with  very  consider- 
able changes.  The  north  wall  (hi,  Fig.  46)  was  removed,  and 
the  brick-faced  concrete  mass  (kg)  was  cut  away,  for  at  least 
more  than  half  its  length,  so  that  its  curve  should  correspond 
with  that  of  the  flight  of  steps  behind.  The  north  half  of  this 
curved  wall  was  then  decorated  in  the  manner  already  described 
(p.  223),  and  a  small  triangular  court  formed,  from  which  ac- 
cess was  had  to  the  platform  above.  At  the  southern  end  the 
decoration  of  the  curved  surface  and  the  demolition  of  the  brick 
facing  were  not  completed. 

Objections  have  been  urged  against  each  of  these  views, 
but  at  present  the  weight  of  evidence  seems  to  be  in  favor 
of  the  second,  the  strongest  argument  against  the  priority  of  the 


*Mau,  Mitt.  1905,  230-266;  Hichter,BRT.  II;  IV.  11. 

2Richter,  opp.  citt.  p.  221,  n.l ;    Top?  242;   Hiilsen,  Mitt.  1905.  16-23;  Van 
Deman,  AJA.  1909,  170-186. 


226  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

hemicycle  being  found  in  the  apparently  complete  structural 
unity  of  it  and  the  rectangular  section. 

At  the  north  end  of  the  hemicycle  is  the  core  of  the  Umbilicus 
Bomae,1  a  cylindrical  brick -faced  structure  which  rose  in  three 
stages,  its  diameter  at  the  bottom  being  4.60  metres  and  at  the 
top  3.  This  was  covered  with  marble  and  represented  the  cen- 
tral point  of  city  and  empire,  possibly  in  imitation  of  the 
6fjL(f>a\6<;  at  Delphi.  It  was  probably  erected  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  third  century.  At  the  west  end  of  the  Forum,  Augus- 
tus had  erected  a  column,  covered  with  gilt-bronze,  which  was 
called  the  Milliarium  Aureum.2  On  it  were  engraved  the  names 
of  the  principal  cities  of  the  empire,  and  their  distances  from 
the  capital.  Part  of  a  circular  marble  plinth  has  been  found 
here,  which  may  have  belonged  to  this  monument ;  and  it  is 
possible  that  the  Milliarium  Aureum  stood  in  a  position  at  the 
south  end  of  the  Rostra  corresponding  to  that  of  the  Umbilicus 
at  the  other.3 

Beginning  behind  the  south  end  of  the  hemicycle,  and  ex- 
tending about  20  metres  south,  is  a  row  (op,  Fig.  46)  of  eight 
arched  rectangular  chambers4  set  on  a  line  parallel  with  the 
major  axis  of  the  temple  of  Saturn  and  forming  an  angle  of 
15°  with  that  of  the  Rostra.  The  two  chambers  at  the  south 
end  were  partially  built  over  by  the  foundations  of  the  arch  of 
Tiberius.  The  structure  is  built  of  opus  reticulatum  of  tufa, 
and  is  20.80  metres  long  and  2.30  high.  The  rooms  are  1.60 
metres  high,  1.70  broad,  and  from  1.50  to  2.15  deep.  The  in- 
side walls  are  covered  with  opus  signinum,  and  the  pavement  is 
of  rude  brick  tesserae,  and  extended  for  a  distance  of  4  metres 
from  the  front  of  the  row.  Above  these  rooms  is  a  floor  of 
rammed  tufa,  edged  with  tufa  slabs  (the  present  upper  layer  is 
modern). 

i  Not.  Reg.  viii. ;  Jordan,  I.  2.  245. 

2 PI.  NH.  iii.  66;  Tac.  Hist.  i.  27;  Dio  Cass.  liv.  8;  Gilbert,  III.  173-174. 
3  CR.  1900,  237 ;  Mitt.  1902,  20. 

*2fS.  1900,  627-634;  SO.  1900,  267-269;  1903,  153-158;  CR.  1901,  87-88; 
Mitt.  1902, 13-16;  1905, 14-15. 


THE   FORUM. 


227 


FIG.  47.  —  THE  SUBSTRUCTURES  OF  THE  CLIVUS  CAPITOI-INUS. 

It  seems  clear  that  this  row  of  arches  was  a  sort  of  viaduct, 
built  to  support  the  clivus  Capitolinus  when  the  temple  of 
Saturn  was  restored  by  Plaucus  in  42  B.C.1  The  enlargement 
of  the  temple  at  that  time  made  it  necessary  to  push  the  line 

1  For  arguments  in  favor  of  assigning  this  substructure  to  the  time  of  Sulla, 
see  EC.  1902,  128;  Richter,  Geschichte  der  Rednerbtihne,  8-9. 


228  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

of  the  clivus  farther  eastj  and  it  was  then  carried  on  these 
substructures.  The  theory  at  first  advanced1  that  this  struc- 
ture was  the  rostra  of  Julius  Caesar  has  been  shown  to  be 
untenable. 

In  front  of  these  chambers,  between  the  arch  of  Tiberius 
and  the  prolongation  of  the  south  wall  of  the  Rostra,  are  the 
remains  of  a  room  (q,  Fig.  46)  of  trapezoidal  shape,  with  a 
pavement  of  white  marble.  A  marble  seat  encircled  three 
sides  of  the  chamber,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  north  wall  is 
a  door  from  which  a  flight  of  steps  led  up  to  the  level  of  the 
clivus  Capitolinus.  There  are  also  marks  of  posts  or  columns 
on  the  pavement.  This  may  possibly  have  been  the  so-called 
schola  Xanthi,2  an  office  of  the  scribae,  librarii,  and  praecones 
of  the  curule  aediles.  An  epistyle3  was  found  on  this  spot 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  which  recorded  the  erection  of  this 
schola  by  Bebryx  Aug.  lib.  Drusianus  and  A.  Fabius  Xanthus, 
not  later  than  the  time  of  Trajan  and  perhaps  as  early  as  that 
of  Tiberius,  and  its  restoration  by  a  certain  C.  Avilius  Licinius 
Trosius  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  century. 

The  Comitium.  —  The  word  comitium 4  means  the  place  of 
assembly  (com-eo),  and  until  the  middle  of  the  second  century 
B.C.5  it  was  the  political  centre  of  Rome  (p.  170).  The  changes 
effected  by  Caesar  and  his  successors  destroyed  its  previous 
topographical  arrangement,  but  this  can  be  reconstructed  in 
its  main  lines.  The  republican  Comitium  6  was  a  templum  or 
inaugurated  plot  of  ground,  approximately  70  metres  east  and 
west  and  somewhat  more  north  and  south,  oriented  according 

INS.  1900,  627-634;  Richter,  BRT.  IV.  14. 

2  Gilbert,  III.  161-162;  Mitt.  1888,  208-232;  1902,  12-13;  BC.  1903,  164. 

a  OIL.  vi.  103.  *  Varro,  LL.  v.  155. 

6  Cic.  Lael.  96;  Varro,  RR.  i.  2.  9;  Gilbert,  III.  138-141. 

6  Jordan,  I.  2.  261,  318-322,  Gilbert,  II.  70-74;  aud  esp.  Mitt.  1893,79-94. 
Cf .  also  O'Connor,  The  Graecostasis  of  the  Roman  Foriim  and  its  Vicinity, 
University  of  Wisconsin  Bulletin,  1904,  159-203.  For  the  view  that  the 
orientation  of  the  «arly  Comitium  was  the  same  as  that  of  the  latest,  see 
Pinza,  //  Comizio  Romano  nella  Eta  Repubblicana,  Rome,  1905. 


THE  FORUM.  229 

to  the  cardinal  points  of  the  compass.  This  is  also  the  orien- 
tation of  three  sides  of  the  Career,  of  some  of  the  so-called 
tabernae  on  the  south  side  of  the  forum  lulium,  the  founda- 
tions of  which  have  been  found,  of  part  of  the  early  structures 
under  the  lapis  niger,  and  of  the  early  Kegia  and  domus 
Publica.  The  east  side  of  the  Career  and  of  the  tabernae  deter- 
mines the  west  and  north  sides  of  the  Comitium,  while  its  ex- 
tent toward  the  east  was  limited  by  the  brook  that  came  down 
through  the  Subura  and  the  Argiletum.  In  the  centre  of  the 
north  side  was  the  Curia ;  on  the  west  were  the  basilica  Porcia 
and  the  Career ;  on  the  south  were  the  Eostra  and  the  Graeco- 
stasis  ;  and  a  little  farther  off  was  the  Senaculum,  but  the  exact 
position  of  these  three  with  reference  to  each  other  is  very 
uncertain.  The  area  of  the  Comitium,  undoubtedly  paved  at  a 
very  early  date,  was  inclosed,1  partly  by  these  buildings  and 
partly  by  railings. 

The  building  of  the  first  senate  house  was  ascribed  to  Tullus 
Hostilius,2  and  it  was  regularly  called  the  curia  Hostilia.  It 
was  restored3  by  Sulla  in  80  B.C.,  and  may  have  been  somewhat 
enlarged,  as  Sulla  is  said  to  have  removed  the  statues4  of 
Pythagoras  and  Alcibiades,  which  had  stood  at  the  corners  of 
the  Comitium.  This  hall  was  burned  in  52  B.C.  and  rebuilt  by 
Faustus  Sulla,5  and  very  possibly  the  enlargement  just  referred 
to  was  really  his  work.  In  45  B.C.  Caesar  began  the  erection 
of  a  new  Curia,6  —  the  curia  lulia,  —  just  east  of  the  curia 
Hostilia  and  with  a  different  orientation/  We  are  told  that 
he  removed  the  curia  Hostilia,  and  erected  on  its  site  a  temple 
of  Felicitas,  but  this  temple  was  completed  and  dedicated  by 
Lepidus  after  Caesar's  death,  and  in  45  B.C.  the  old  Curia  was 


iCic.de  Rep.  ii.  31. 

2  Varro,  LL.  v.  155;  Mem.  d.  Line.  1883,  1-6. 

«  Cic.  de  Fin.  v.  2.  <  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  26. 

5  Cic.  pro  3ft/.  90;  Ascon.  in  Mil.  p.  29;  Dio  Cass.  xl.  49. 

«  Dio  Cass.  xliv.  5 ;  xlv.  17 ;  xlvii.  19. 

7  For  the  subsequent  history  of  the  curia  lulia,  see  p.  238. 


230  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

still  in  use.  It  is  therefore  probable  that  it  was  not  entirely 
destroyed  until  the  new  building  was  at  least  partially  ready 
for  use,  and  that  the  temple  of  Felicitas  occupied  only  a  small 
part  of  its  site,  on  its  west  side.  The  presence  of  this  temple, 
with  the  orientation  of  the  old  Curia,  would  account  for  the 
irregular  shape  of  the  tabernae  of  the  forum  lulium  at  this 
point.  Of  the  later  history  of  the  temple  nothing  is  known, 
nor  is  there  any  clue  to  the  appearance  of  the  curia  Hostilia, 
except  that  it  was  not  so  large  as  the  curia  lulia. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  Comitium  was  the  basilica  Porcia,1 
the  first  structure  of  the  sort  of  which  we  have  any  record. 
It  was  built  by  Cato  the  Censor  in  184  B.C.,  and  stood  in  law- 
tuffdis  and  next  to  the  Curia,  so  that  its  site  is  very  closely 
determined.  It  was  burned  in  52  B.C.,  at  the.  same  time  with 
the  Curia  of  Sulla,  and  if  not  totally  destroyed  then,  it  must 
have  been  removed  during  the  changes  of  the  following  years. 

The  Kostra  (p.  220)  of  the  republic  occupied  a  large  part  of 
the  south  side  of  the  Comitium.  West  of  it  was  the  Graeco- 
stasis,  and  the  relative  position  of  these  structures  and  the  gen- 
eral orientation  of  the  Comitium  is  further  determined  by  the 
statement  of  Pliny 2  that  the  accensus  of  the  consuls  proclaimed 
the  hour  of  noon  when,  from  the  Curia,  he  saw  the  sun  between 
the  Rostra  and  Graecostasis,  —  that  is,  in  the  south. 

This  Graecostasis 3  was  a  raised  platform,  without  a  roof,  on 
which  ambassadors  from  foreign  states  awaited  their  reception 
in  the  senate,  and  from  which  they  could  witness  the  assem- 
blies of  the  people. 

The  Graecostadium,4  a  structure  evidently  of  some  considerable 


.  xxxix.   44;  Ascon.  in  Mil.  p.  29;  Plut.  Cat.  19;  GilbertT,  III.  210- 
212 ;  Mitt.  1893,  84,  91. 
2  NH.  vii.  212. 

*Varro,  LL.  \.  155;  Cic.  ad  Q.  Fr.  ii.  13;  Jordan,  I.  2.  243-244;  Gilbert, 
III.  139-140;  Mitt.  1893,  87,  91 ;  O'Connor,  op.  cit.  159-169. 

,  4  Jul.  Capit.  Vit.  Ant.  Pit,  9;  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  148;  Jordan,  FUR.  19; 
Bull.  Crist.  1902,  126;  Mitt.  1905, 11-14;  O'Connor,  op.  cit.  169-178. 


THE  FORUM.  231 

size,  which  was  restored  by  Antoninus  Pius  and  again  after 
the  fire  of  Carinus,  has  usually  been  identified  with  the  earlier 
Graecostasis,  but  it  was  almost  certainly  another  building. 
Part  of  the  name  occurs  on  a  fragment  of  the  Marble  Plan,  it 
is  mentioned  in  the  Notitia  and  Curiosum,  and  may  be  referred 
to  by  Plutarch.1  It  probably  stood  just  south  of  the  basilica 
.  lulia,  and  not  in  the  Forum  itself. 

The  Senaculum,2  a  building  in  which  the  senators  assem- 
bled, —  presumably  before  entering  the  Curia  itself,  —  was 
supra  Graecostasim,  ubi  aedes  et  basilica  Opimia.  It  must, 
therefore,  have  stood  on  the  Volcanal,  at  the  very  edge  of  the 
Comitium  and  in  front  of  the  earlier  temple  of  Concord  and 
the  basilica  Opimia.  Its  position  is  thus  determined  within 
very  narrow  limits.  It  must  have  been  removed  at  the  latest 
when  the  temple  of  Concord  was  rebuilt  by  Tiberius,  but  it 
was  probably  moved  at  a  still  earlier  date,  along  with  the 
Rostra  ajjd  the  Graecostasis. 

On  the  Comitium,  in  front  of  the  Curia,  was  a  puteal,  or 
stone  curb,  on  a  spot  which  had  been  struck  by  lightning ;  but 
in  the  development  of  the  legend  of  Attus  Navius,  the  belief 
had  become  general  that  his  razor  and  whetstone  were  buried 
here.3  The  statue  of  the  famous  augur  stood  on  the  left  side 
of  the  steps  of  the  Curia,  and  near  by  was  the  ficns  Euminalis  4 
(p.  129),  which  he  had  caused  to  be  miraculously  transplanted 
from  the  Lupercal  to  the  Comitium.  This  fig  tree  was  stand- 
ing in  the  time  of  Nero,  when  its  drying  up  and  reviving  was 
regarded  as  a  prodigy. 

Near  the  basilica  Porcia  and  the  Career  was  the  columna  Maenia,5 

1  De  Sollertia  Anim.  19  (973  c). 

2Varro,  LL.  v.  156;  Fest.  347;  Val.  Max.  ii.  2.  6;  Gilbert,  II.  70-71;  III. 
63 ;  Mitt.  1893,  87,  91 ;  Mommsen,  Staatsrecht,  iii.  913-915. 

«Liv.  i.  36;  Cic.  de  Div.  i.  33. 

«Conon,  Narr.  48;  Dionys.  iii.  71;  PI.  NH.  xv.  77;  Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  58; 
Jordan,  I.  2.  264,  356-357;  Mitt.  1893,  92;  Gilbert,  III.  138-139. 

« PI.  NH.  vii.  212;  xxxiv.  20;  Cic.  Div.  in  Caecil.50;  Jordan,  I.  2.  345;  Mitt. 
1893,  84-85;  O'Connor,  op.  tit.  188-189. 


232  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

erected  in  338  B.C.  in  honor  of  C.  Maenius,  the  victor  at 
Antium.  Another  story l  that  was  current  in  later  times 
about  the  origin  of  this  column  is  certainly  false.  It  stood 
until  the  end  of  the  republic,  but  is  not  mentioned  afterward. 
Just  west  of  the  Curia  were  the  subsellia  tribunorum,2  the  wooden 
benches  occupied  by  the  tribunes  of  the  people,  which  seem 
not  to  have  survived  the  republic,  being  mentioned  for  the  last 
time  in  connection  with  Caesar's  triumph  in  45.  Near  these 
subsellia  was  the  tabula  Valeria,3  usually  explained  as  a  painting 
of  the  naval  battle  between  the  Romans  and  Carthaginians  in 
263  B.C.,  which  was  placed,  we  are  told, by  the  victor,  Valerius 
Messalla,  in  latere  curiae.  This  is  interpreted  to  mean  either 
the  wall  of  the  Curia,  although  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  ex- 
plain how  it  survived  the  rebuilding  by  Sulla,  or  a  sort  of  sep- 
arate balustrade  which  might  have  surrounded  the  whole  or 
part  of  the  Curia.  A  more  probable  explanation 4  is  that  the 
tabula  Valeria  was  an  inscription  in  bronze  or  marble,  contain- 
ing the  provisions  of  the  famous  Valerio-Horatian  laws  con- 
cerning the  office  of  tribune.  Such  a  tablet  might  very  naturally 
be  set  up  near  their  subsellia. 

Until  the  recent  excavations,  the  Comitium  was  buried  to  a 
depth  of  more  than  9  metres,  but  it  has  now  been  completely 
uncovered  from  the  front  of  the  Curia  (S.  Adriano)  in  all  direc- 
tions, except  on  the  northwest  side.  A  stratigraphic  examina- 
tion5 of  the  area  of  the  Comitium  has  shown  that  there  are 
twenty -three  strata  from  the  latest  pavement  to  the  virgin  soil, 
a  depth  of  4.04  metres.  These  twenty-three  strata  may,  how- 
ever, be  assigned  to  about  fourteen  main  divisions,  which  in 
turn  represent  probably  about  six  successive  elevations.  These 

1  Pseudo-Ascon.  ad  Cic.  Div.  in  Caecil.  16;  Porphyr.  ad  Hor.  Sat.  i.  3.  21. 

2 Suet.  Goes.  78;  cf.  Cic.  pro  Sest.  18;  Plut.  Cat.  Min.5;  Gilbert,  III.  165. 

8  Cic.  in  Vatin.  21;  ad  Fam.  xiv.  2;  PI.  NH.  xxxv.  22;  Jordan,  1.2. 
330-331;  Mitt.  1893,  93;  AJP.  1898,  406-412. 

*  CP.  1908,  278-284. 

&NS.  1900,  317-340;  BC.  1900,  274-280;  1903,  125-134;  Pinza,  II  Comizio 
Romano  nella  Eta  Repubblicana,  Rome,  1905. 


THE   FORUM.  233 

successive  elevations  in  level  are  due  to  human  agency ;  and 
while  it  is  not  possible  to  assign  an  exact  duration  of  time  to 
all  of  them,  they  present  a  vivid  picture  of  the  rapid  changes 
which  were  going  on  continually  in  and  round  the  Forum. 
Besides  earth,  gravel,  sand,  and  broken  tufa,  these  strata  con- 
tain fragments  of  all  sorts  such  as  potsherds,  sacrificial  re- 
mains, votive  offerings,  and  bricks,  of  all  periods.  This  material, 
some  of  which  came  from  buildings  that  had  been  burned,  was 
evidently  dumped  here  whenever  it  was  necessary  to  raise  the 
level  of  the  Comitium. 

The  latest  pavement1  of  the  Comitium  begins  at  a  distance 
of  about  11  metres  from  the  front  of  the  Curia,  and  extends  in 
a  fragmentary  condition  as  far  as  the  lapis  niger.  It  consists 
of  slabs  of  travertine,  very  roughly  laid,  and  dates  probably 
from  the  fourth  or  fifth  century,  although  some  of  it  may  be 
the  Caesarian  pavement  (see  below)  raised  and  relaid.  Directly 
in  front  of  the  Curia  is  a  pavement  of  blocks  of  Luna  marble 
of  the  earlv  imperial  period.  This  lies  about  20  centimetres 
below  the  level  of  the  pavement  just  described,  and  represents 
the  level  of  the  Comitium  as  established  by  Caesar,  13.50  metres 
above  the  sea.  Between  this  marble  pavement  and  the  later 
one  is  a  travertine  water-channel  (1,  2,  Fig.  48)  0.42  metre  wide, 
parallel  to  the  front  of  the  Curia,  and  also  a  strip  of  gray 
marble  (3,  4)  in  which  are  traces  of  the  holes  for  marble  pilas- 
ters, 1  metre  apart.  Between  these  pilasters  there  must  have 
been  a  screen  which  divided  the  Comitium  into  two  parts.  Be- 
yond this  division  the  pavement  of  the  Caesarian  period  was 
of  travertine,  and  this  still  exists  around  the  lapis  niger,  which 
is  embedded  in  it,  and  westward  to  the  arch  of  Severus. 

Resting  partly  on  the  marble  pavement  and  partly  on  the 
later  travertine,  is  the  circular  marble  basin  (T)  5.26  metres  in 
diameter,  which  belonged  to  a  fountain.2  It  is  made  of  eight 

*  For  these  pavements,  see  NS.  1900, 305-316;  EC.  1900,  273-274;  1903, 146- 
149;  CR.  1899,  233;  1900,  237;  Mitt.  1902,  31-39. 

a  BC.  1900,  13-25;  CR.  1901,  86-87;  Mitt.  1902,  34-35. 


V.  234 


CVRIA 

FIG.  48.  — THE  COMITIUM. 


THE   FORUM. 


235 


pieces,  and  in  its  centre  is  an  octagonal  space  in  which  the 
foot  of  the  fountain  stood.  This  must  have  been  something 
like  a  slender  cantharus  in  shape,  and  was  fed  by  a  lead  pipe 
laid  in  the  water-channel  (1,  2).  It  is  generally  supposed  to 
date  from  about  the  fifth  or  sixth  century,  but  the  workman- 
ship seems  remarkably  good  for  so  late  a  period. 

At  a  depth  of  0.47  metre  below  the  level  of  the  imperial  pave- 
ment is  a  small  section  of  a  pavement  (fc)  of  perfectly  squared 
slabs  of  travertine  on  a  foundation  of  broken  tufa.  The  orien- 
tation of  this  pavement  is  not  that  of  those  above  it,  —  which 
correspond  with  the  Curia,  —  but  is  almost  north  and 
south,  east  and  west,  like  that  of  the  republican  Comi- 
tium ;  and  this  is,  in  fact,  the  pavement  of  the  last 
century  of  the  republic,  probably  belonging  to  the 
time  of  Sulla.  Under  it  are  the  remains  of  a  flight 
of  tufa  steps  (I),  1.24  metres  high,  leading  down  to 


BASIN   OF   FOUNTAIN. 


FIG.  49.  —  SECTION  OF  THE  COMITIUM. 


a  still  older  pavement  made  of  bits  of  broken  tufa.  This 
pavement  is  2.40  metres  below  that  of  the  empire,  and  extends 
southeast  a  distance  of  2.64  metres,  where  it  is  blocked  by 
a  vaulted  drain  (p,  Fig.  49).  This  drain  is  built  of  tufa,  is 
1.63  metres  high,  and  runs  parallel  to  the  front  of  the  Curia, 
emptying  into  the  sewer  of  the  Argiletum.  It  appears  to  have 
been  built  in  the  time  of  Caesar,  when  the  lines  of  the  Comi- 
tium  were  changed. 

On  this  lower  level  was  a  straight  flight  of  steps,  extending 


236  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

across  the  Comitium  in  an  east  and  west  direction,  traces  of 
which  are  visible  at  several  points  (dcba,  Fig.  48).  These  steps 
led  up  to  a  sort  of  suggestus,  which  seems  to  have  divided  the 
Comitium  and  Forum,  and  in  which  it  is  difficult  to  see  any- 
thing else  than  the  early  Rostra  (p.  220).  Almost  parallel  to 
these  steps,  and  further  to  the  south,  are  remains  of  a  wall  of 
tufa  blocks  (efgJii),  quite  archaic  in  appearance,1  which  may 
have  formed  the  front  or  retaining  wall  of  the  suggestus.  The 
lapis  niger  and  adjacent  monuments  stand  in  a  niche  formed 
in  this  suggestus  by  two  cross  walls. 

This  flight  of  steps  was  afterwards  built  over,  at  a  higher 
level,  by  another  flight  which  was  curved  instead  of  straight. 
Of  this  curved  flight  some  portions  still  exist  at  p'pp'm.  The 
suggestus  to  which  they  led  covered  the  earlier,  and  was  paved 
with  tufa  blocks,  some  of  which  are  in  situ  at  H.  South  of  the 
archaic  wall  (ghi)  is  a  curved  channel  (xz)  of  tufa  and  opus  reti- 
culatum,  which  may  mark  the  outer  line  of  the  second  suggestus. 
The  four  "  pozzi "  (I,  II,  III,  IV,  see  below)  were  evidently  built 
in  this  second  platform  when  it  was  covered  by  the  pavement 
which  lies  at  the  level  of  their  tops.  The  possible  relations 
between  these  successive  tribunals  and  the  inclosed  monuments 
are  referred  to  on  p.  247. 

Standing  on  a  layer  of  earth  which  covered  the  late  traver- 
tine pavement  is  a  marble  pedestal2  (S,  Fig.  48)  1.26  metres 
high  and  0.80  by  0.85  in  width  and  breadth.  On  its  top  are 
holes  for  clamps  to  hold  a  statue  or  column.  This  pedestal 
was  originally  dedicated  by  the  officials  of  a  guild  of  carpen- 
ters (fabri  tignuarii),  August  1,  154  A.D.,  as  is  shown  by  the 
inscriptions  on  the  north  and  west  sides.  It  was  afterward 
dedicated  in  the  name  of  Maxentius  to  Mars  Invictus  and  the 
founders  —  Romulus  and  Remus  —  of  the  eternal  city,  by  a 
certain  Furius  Octavianus,  on  the  birthday  of  the  city,  April 

iDelbriick,  Der  Apollotempel  auf  dem  Marsfeld,  Rome,  1903,  11-12;  Mitt. 
1905,  30-32. 

2  BC,  1899,  213-220;  1903,  134-138;  NS.  1900,  303-305;  Mitt.  1902,  31. 


THE  FORUM.  237 

21,  in  the  year  308  A.D.  The  two  inscriptions  which  record 
this  dedication  are  on  the  south  and  east  sides.  This  base  has 
some  bearing  on  the  question  of  the  lapis  niger  (p.  247).  On 
the  east  side  of  the  Comitium,  along  the  Argiletum,  are  three 
marble  pedestals  (PQR,  Fig.  48)  in  situ,  one  of  which  (P)  is 
broken,  but  which  was  originally  of  the  same  size  as  the 
others,  1.55  metres  high  and  about  1.30  square.  One  of  these 
(Q)  bears  a  dedicatory  inscription1  of  Memmius  Vitrasius 
Orfitus  to  the  emperor  Constantius,  and  the  other  (R)  the  most 
meagre  traces  of  a  similar  inscription,  probably  to  the  emperor 
Julianus.  In  the  medieval  masonry  at  the  southeast  corner  of 
the  porch  of  the  Curia  were  found  some  inscribed  cippi ;  and 
at  various  points  on  the  Comitium  and  Forum,  both  built  into 
later  masonry  and  lying  in  the  midst  of  the  accumulated  soil, 
many  inscriptions 2  have  come  to  light,  which  date  all  the  way 
from  the  end  of  the  republic  to  the  end  of  the  empire.  At  0 
on  the  late  pavement  is  a  large  rectangular  base  of  brickwork, 
but  there  is  no  clue  to  what  it  supported. 

At  various  points  in  the  Comitium,  in  the  stratum  lying 
beneath  the  republican  pavement,  are  twenty-one  small  and 
shallow  pits8  (as  I,  II,  Fig.  48),  made  of  blocks  of  tufa,  and 
of  various  shapes,  —  rectangular,  pentagonal,  and  rhombo- 
trapezoidal.  These  pits  are  sometimes  covered  with  stone 
slabs,  but  are  usually  open  at  the  bottom.  Similar  pits  have 
been  found  at  various  points  in  the  Forum,  —  a  line  of  eleven 
in  front  of  the  Rostra  (Fig.  57),  another  line  of  nine  under 
the  Sacra  via  at  the  west  end  of  the  basilica  lulia,  several 
between  the  arch  of  Augustus  and  the  temple  of  Castor,  and 
others  south  of  the  lapis  niger.  Those  in  the  Comitium 
seem  to  belong  to  the  Caesarian  period,  or  possibly  a  few  years 
earlier,  while  some  of  the  others,  like  those  near  the  arch  of 

1  OIL.  vi.  31395. 

2  For  inscriptions  found  during  the  excavations  1899-1902,  see  NS.  passim ; 
BC.  1899,  205-247  ;  1900,  63-74. 

a  NS.  1900,  317;  BC.  1900,  60;  1903, 149-150;  Mitt.  1902,  58;  1905,  31-35. 


238 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


Augustus,  are  as  late  as  that  emperor.  When  discovered,  most 
of  the  pits  on  the  Comitium  were  filled  with  rubbish  of  the 
end  of  the  republic,  in  which  were  fragments  of  bones,  pot- 
sherds, etc.  According  to  one  explanation,  these  pits  are  "  pozzi 
rituali,"  or  receptacles  in  which  the  remains  of  sacrifices  were 


FIG.  50.  —  SHALLOW  PIT,  AND  VAULT  OF  THE  CLOACA  MAXIMA. 

preserved ;  according  to  another,  —  at  least  as  probable,  — 
they  are  simply  openings  built  to  facilitate  the  draining  away 
of  rain-water. 

The   curia  lulia1   was  dedicated  in  29  B.C.,  at  which  time 

1  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  1;  Dio  Cass.  li.  22;  Gilbert,  III.  167-170;  Mem.  d.  Line. 
1883,  5-26,  and  plates;  Mitt.  1893,  278-281. 


THE   FORUM.  239 

Augustus  added  to  it  a  sort  of  annex,  called  the  Ohalcidicum 
and  afterward  the  atrium  Minervae,  which  seems  to  have  been 
a  repository  for  records.  There  was  also  another  annex  or 
part  of  the  senate  house,  the  Secretarium  senatus,  of  which  we 
have  no  direct  evidence  before  an  inscription l  of  the  time  of 
Honorius ;  but  there  is  little  doubt  that  this  apartment,  evi- 
dently an  office  for  the  clerks  of  the  senate,  formed  part  of  the 
structure  of  Augustus,  as  it  did  of  that  of  Diocletian.  The  first 
curia  lulia  was  restored  by  Domitian,2  burned  in  the  fire  of 
Carinus,  and  finally  rebuilt  by  Diocletian.3  This  building  is 
the  present  church  of  S.  Adriano,  into  which  it  was  trans- 
formed about  630  A.D.  Drawings  of  the  sixteenth  century 
show  the  condition  of  the  building  at  that  time  and  the  main 
lines  of  its  original  construction.  It  occupied  a  rectangular 
space,  51.28  metres  long  and  27.51  wide,  fronting  on  the 
Comitium,  and  in  the  rear  abutting  on  the  inclosure  wall  of 
the  forum  lulium.  Its  east  side  was  on  the  Argiletum.  The 
building  consisted  of  three  parts.  The  Curia  proper,  or  hall 
in  which  the  senate  met,  which  is  the  modern  church,  occu- 
pied the  east  end.  This  hall  is  25.20  metres  deep  and  17.61 
wide.  Little  of  the  ancient  interior  remains  except  the  Corin- 
thian pilasters  of  marble  on  each  side  and  at  the  ends.  The 
exterior  can  hardly  have  been  imposing.  The  lower  part  of 
the  brick-faced  facade  was  covered  with  'slabs  of  colored 
marble,  some  of  which  have  been  found  in  sitii,  and  the  upper 
part  with  painted  stucco,  traces  of  which  are  visible.4  The 
brick  cornice  is  supported  by  travertine  consoles,  and  above 
it  is  a  triangular  pediment,  round  which  the  cornice  was  con- 
tinued. The  main  entrance  of  Diocletian's  Curia  was  at  the 
top  of  a  flight  of  steps,  1.60  metres  above  the  imperial  pave- 
ment. Only  the  foundation  of  these  steps  remains.  The 

1  GIL.  vi.  1718;  Jordan,  I.  2.  256-257. 

2  Hieronym.  161.  *  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  148. 
*  NS.  1900,  48-49,  295-303;  EG.  1899,  251-252;  1900,  271-273;  1903,  143-146; 

CR.  1900,  236-237;  Mitt.  1902,  39-41;  1905,  47-52. 


240 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


doorway  itself  was  5.90  metres  in  height  from  threshold  to 
architrave,  and  continued  in  use  until  the  latter  part  of  the 
eleventh  century,  probably  after  the  Norman  invasion,  when 
its  lower  half  was  walled  up  with  fragments  of  all  sorts, 
marble  and  porphyry  columns,  inscriptions,  and  the  like,  and 
the  new  threshold  was  laid  3.25  metres  above  the  earlier.  In 
1654  the  upper  part  of  the  original  doorway  was  walled  up, 


FIG.  .51.  —  CURIA  AND  COMITIUM. 

and  a  new  one  cut  through  above,  so  that  its  threshold  corre- 
sponded with  the  top  of  the  first.  This  was  the  doorway  of 
the  church  which  was  in  use  until  the  recent  excavations. 
The  bronze  doors  themselves  were  removed  to  the  Lateran  by 
Alexander  VII  in  the  seventeenth  century.  By  means  of  a 
tunnel  cut  through  the  wall  (at  Y,  Fig.  48)  portions  of  the 
original  pavement  of  colored  marbles  have  been  found  in  situ. 
After  the  building  had  become  a  church,  bodies  were  buried 
in  niches  (loculi)  cut  in  the  front  wall,  seven  of  which  have 
been  found,  one  containing  a  skeleton.  Other  tombs  were  cut 


THE   FORUM.  241 

in  the  foundation  of  the  steps  (Z,  Fig.  48),  and  on  this  foun- 
dation and  on  the  Comitium  were  found  three  sarcophagi. 
At  the  west  end  of  the  steps  is  a  well  of  republican  date 
(U,  Fig.  48)  0.69  metre  in  diameter,  in  which,  besides  the  usual 
rubbish,  were  fragments  of  stucco  decoration  in  the  second 
Pompeian  style,  which  may  have  belonged  to  the  curia  Hostilia. 
The  west  end  of  the  building  was  occupied  by  the  Secreta- 
rium,  a  hall  measuring  18.17  by  8.92  metres,  with  an  apse  at 
the  north  end.  This  hall  became  the  church  of  S.  Martina, 
and  was  completely  modernized  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
Through  the  centre  of  the  building,  between  the  Curia  and 
Secretarium,  Cardinal  Bonelli  cut  the  modern  via  Bonella. 
From  the  drawings  it  is  not  possible  to  decide  with  absolute 
certainty  whether  this  space  was  taken  up  by  one  large  hall, 
divided  by  rows  of  columns  into  a  nave  and  two  aisles,  or  by 
two  smaller  rooms,  but  the  former  is  the  more  probable.  Either 
this  central  portion,  or  rooms  shown  in  the  drawings  behind 
S.  Adriano,  was  the  Ohalcidicum  or  atrium  Minervae. 

The  Lapis  Niger  and  Adjacent  Monuments.1 — At  the  south 
edge  of  the  Comitium  is  a  pavement  of  black  marble  (Fig.  52), 
about  4  metres  long  by  3  wide,  and  0.25  to  0.30  metre  thick. 
It  has  suffered  from  fire  and  other  injuries,  and  has  been 
repaired  in  one  place  with  a  block  of  white  marble.  The 
centre  of  this  pavement  is  29.50  metres  from  the  Curia,  and 
19.50  from  the  arch  of  Severus,  and  it  lies  on  the  same  level 
as  the  Caesarian  pavement  (p.  233)  of  the  Comitium,  of  which  it 
seems  to  form  a  part.  On  the  south  and  adjacent  parts  of  the 
east  and  west  sides,  it  is  protected  by  a  rude  curb  of  marble 
slabs  set  in  travertine  sills.  As  excavations  have  been  made 
beneath  this  pavement,  it  is  now  supported  by  an  iron  frame- 
work. It  has  the  same  orientation  as  the  Curia. 

1  For  the  description  of  these  monuments,  see  esp.  NS.  1899,  129,  151-158; 
Comparetti,  Iscrizione  Arcaica  del  Foro  Romano,  1900, 1-13;  Mitt.  1902,  22-26; 
Richter,  Top. a  363-367 ;  BC.  1903,  108-114. 


242 


TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT  ROME. 


Underneath  this  pavement  is  a  group  of  ancient  tufa  struc- 
tures which  rest  on  a  pavement  of  broken  tufa,  2  metres  below 
the  upper  surface  of  the  black  marble,  and  about  1.50  metres 


FIG.  52.  —  THE  LAPIS  NIGER. 

below  the  level  of  the  travertine  pavement  of  the  later  repub- 
lic. This  group  consists  of  two  parts.  That  at  the  east  con- 
sists of  a  rectangular  foundation  of  one  course  of  tufa,  on 
which  rest  two  bases  (A,  B,  Fig.  53),  2.66  metres  long  and 
1.31  broad,  and  1  metre  apart,  connected  at  the  rear  (south)  by 
a  course  of  the  same  height  and  0.435  metre  broad.  The 
height  of  the  upper  surface  of  these  bases  from  the  pavement 
is  0.59  metre.  In  the  centre  of  the  rectangle,  between  the 
bases,  is  an  open  space,  1.20  by  1  metres,  where  there  is  no 
foundation,  but  a  bottom  of  soil  and  ashes.  On  the  edge  of  the 
foundation,  and  projecting  over  this  space,  is  a  single  tufa 
block  (C),  measuring  0.725  by  0.52  by  0.29  metre.  The  rect- 
angle formed  by  these  two  bases  measures  3.64  metres  in  length 
and  2.66  in  depth.  On  the  bases  were  pedestals  of  tufa  with 
curved  profiles  except  at  the  south,  where  the  ends  were  cut 


THE   FORUM. 


243 


off  square.  Of  these  pedestals,  that  on  the  west  base  is  al- 
most entirely  preserved,  but  of  the  other  only  two  blocks  re- 
main. There  is  no  trace  of  what  they  supported.  Directly 


F 


Fip.  53.  —  THE  AKCHAIC  STRUCTURES  UNDER  THE  LAPIS  NIGER. 

behind  them  is  another  platform  (D)  of  tufa,  3.50  metres  long 
and  1.60  wide,  with  no  trace  of  a  superstructure.  The  orien- 
tation of  this  group,  ordinarily  called  the  sacellum,  differs  not 


244  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  EOME. 

only  from  that  of  the  adjacent  structures  and  of  the  lapis  niger, 
but  also  from  that  of  the  Cpmitium  of  the  republic,  being  30° 
east  of  north.  The  straight  flight  of  steps  (abc,  Fig.  48)  was 
interrupted  by  this  sacellum,  the  north  corner  of  which  pro- 
jects just  across  its  line.  Just  east  of  this  structure,  and 
nearly  parallel  with  it,  is  a  wall  of  four  courses  of  tufa  blocks, 
one  of  the  two  retaining  walls  of  the  suggestus  mentioned  on 
p.  236,  which  were  evidently  built  to  inclose  the  niche  in 
which  these  monuments  stand. 

West  of  this  rectangle  is  the  second  part  of  the  group.  The 
first  and  second  steps  of  the  suggestus  begin  again,  and  ex- 
tending south  from  them,  on  a  level  with  the  top  of  the  lowest, 
are  several  blocks  of  very  early  pavement.  West  of  this  pave- 
ment are  traces  of  what  seems  to  have  been  the  west  wall  of 
the  niche.  On  this  pavement  stands  the  lower  part  of  a  cippus 
(H)  of  brown  tufa,  which  has  also  been  broken  off  at  a  height 
varying  from  0.45  to  0.61  metre.  It  is  four-sided,  each  edge 
being  bevelled,  and  tapers  slightly  from  the  bottom,  where  it 
measures  0.47  by  0.52  metre.  On  the  four  sides  and  on  one 
of  the  bevelled  edges  is  part  of  an  archaic  inscription  in  Greek 
letters,  which  dates  probably  from  about  the  beginning  of  the 
fifth  century  B.C.  The  letters  have  suffered  so  little  from  ex- 
posure that  it  is  probable  that  they  were  covered  with  stucco 
and  painted  red.  As  nearly  as  can  be  judged,  from  a  half  to 
two-thirds  of  the  cippus  has  been  broken  off,  and  as  the  inscrip- 
tion is  cut  in  the  vertical  boustrophedon  style,  —  that  is,  with 
letters  running  in  different  directions  in  alternate  lines,  from 
one  end  of  the  cippus  to  the  other,  —  only  a  few  words  can  be 
made  out  with  certainty,  and  no  agreement  has  been  reached 
as  to  its  meaning.1  From  the  few  words  that  can  be  read  it  is 
probable  that  the  inscription,  perhaps  a  lex  sacrata,  refers  to 
some  ceremony  performed  here  by  the  rex,  either  the  real 

1  The  best  discussion  of  this  inscription  is  by  Warren,  The  Stele  Inscription 
in  the  Forum,  AJP.  1907,  249-272,  373-400. 


THE   FORUM. 


245 


king,  or  his  successor,  the  rex  sacrorum.  The  cippus  stands 
in  a  shallow  hollow,  cut  for  it  in  the  surface  of  the  pavement, 
but  it  has  been  slightly  displaced.  Around  it  lie  some  blocks 
(Fig.  54)  of  a  second  pavement,  superimposed  upon  the 
first,  which  cover  the  lower  part  of  the  cippus  as  far  as  the 


FIG.  54. —  THE  CIPPUS  AND  INSCRIPTION. 

beginning  of  the  inscription.  The  displacement  just  men- 
tioned is  probably  due  to  the  laying  of  this  second  pavement. 
On  the  corner  of  the  second  step  of  the  suggestus,  nearest  the 
pedestals,  is  a  square  base,  and  on  it  the  lower  part  of  a  conical 
column  (G,  Fig.  53)  of  yellow  tufa,  0.77  metre  in  diameter  at 
the  bottom  and  0.69  at  the  top,  which  has  been  broken  off  at 
a  height  of  0.48  metre.  Cippus  and  cone  have  been  broken  off 
at  the  same  level,  which  corresponds  with  that  of  the  bed  of 
the  late  republican  pavement  (k,  Fig.  48).  The  base  of  this 
cone  projects  beyond  the  second  step,  over  the  second  pave- 
ment which  has  been  rudely  hacked  away  to  make  room  for  it. 


246  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  EOME. 

North  of  the  broken  cone  is  a  square  pit  (J),  inclosed  by  walls 
of  brown  tufa  which  project  0.90  metre  above  the  level  on 
which  these  tufa  structures  stand.  The  filling  between  this 
level  and  the  lapis  niger  was  composed  of  a  layer  of  sand  and 
gravel  from  the  Tiber,  0.55  metre  thick,  and  above  this  a  layer, 
0.40  metre  thick,  of  earth  and  ashes  in  which  were  also  many 
fragments  of  bones  of  animals,  potsherds,  terra  cottas,  and  figu- 
rines and  objects  of  various  sorts  made  of  bronze,1  dating  from 
the  sixth  to  the  first  century  B.C.,  and  mixed  together  in  the 
utmost  confusion.  Although  some  of  these  objects  may  have 
been  originally  votive  offerings,  the  character  of  the  stratum 
in  which  they  are  found  makes  it  improbable  that  we  have 
here  a  stips  votiva.  The  material  in  this  layer  was  probably 
scraped  together  from  the  ruins  of  neighboring  buildings  when 
burned,  and  used  with  the  gravel  to  cover  the  tufa  structures. 
Above  it  was  laid  a  mass  of  broken  tufa,  with  bits  of  travertine 
and  fragments  of  the  black  marble  of  which  the  lapis  niger 
consists.  On  this  was  laid  the  concrete  bed  of  the  lapis  niger 
itself. 

The  available  evidence  of  the  monuments  themselves  and 
the  adjacent  strata  seems  to  show,  with  a  considerable  degree 
of  certainty,  that  their  chronological  sequence  is  as  follows  : 
(1)  the  inscribed  cippus,  which  is  surely  as  old  as  the  fifth  and 
possibly  as  the  sixth  century ;  (2)  the  conical  column  of  tufa 
which  also  dates  from  the  fifth  century ;  (3)  the  sacellum  — 
altar  and  pedestals  —  which  in  its  present  form  belongs  to  the 
period  after  the  Gallic  invasion  and  probably  to  the  latter  half 
of  the  fourth  century ;  (4)  the  pavement  of  black  marble,  in  re- 
gard to  which  there  'are  two  widely  divergent  views.  Accord- 
ing to  one,2  it  is  a  part  of  the  Caesarian  pavement  of  travertine 
(p.  233)  which  surrounds  it,  and  therefore  no  later  than  that, 
although  it  may  have  been  laid  first  in  the  time  of  Sulla  on 


1  NS.  1900, 143-146;  Mitt.  1902,  25-26;  BC.  1903, 115-123. 

2  See  Pinza,  Studniczka,  and  Peterson,  in  works  cited  below. 


THE   FORUM.  247 

the  level  of  his  pavement  (k,  Fig.  48)  and  afterward  raised. 
It  may  also  have  been  large  enough  then  to  cover  the  under- 
lying structures.  Confirmation  of  this  view  is  sought  in  the 
presence  of  fragments  of  this  black  marble  in  the  bed  beneath. 
According  to  the  second1  view,  this  pavement  is  not  an  inte- 
gral part  of  the  Caesarian,  and  the  fact  that  it  does  not  cor- 
respond at  all,  in  extent  or  orientation,  with  the  monuments 
beneath,  shows  that  it  can  not  have  been  laid  until  the  knowl- 
edge of  their  exact  position  had  been  lost.  It  is  well  known 
from  literary  and  other  sources  that  the  emperor  Maxentius 
revived  the  cult  of  Komulus,  and  the  discovery  of  the  base 
(S,  Fig.  48)  on  the  Comitium,  dedicated  to  Mars  Invictus  and 
to  Komulus  and  Remus,  the  founders  of  the  city,  in  the  name 
of  Maxentius,  makes  it  easy  to  suppose  that  he  laid  the  pave- 
ment of  black  marble,  to  reproduce  the  lapis  uiger  of  the 
founder's  tomb,  as  nearly  as  possible  over  its  original  site. 
Confirmation  of  this  view  is  also  sought  in  the  absence  of  any 
mention  in  the  literature  of  the  empire  to  so  striking  a  monu- 
ment as  this  black  marble  pavement  in  the  most  frequented 
part  of  the  Forum  would  have  been. 

From  a  combination  of  these  chronological  data  with  those 
derived  from  the  walls  of  the  Comitium  (p.  236),  it  would  ap- 
pear that  about  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century  the  Comitium 
was  separated  from  the  Forum  by  a  low  platform,  on  which 
stood  the  archaic  cippus,  the  cone,  and  probably  an  earlier 
monument,  represented  by  the  existing  sacellum  of  a  consider- 
ably later  date.  After  the  destruction  of  the  Curia  by  the 
Gauls,  the  level  of  the  Comitium  was  raised,  and  the  first  plat- 
form replaced  by  a  higher,  that  to  which  the  straight  flight  of 
steps  belonged  (cba,  Fig.  48).  In  this  platform,  which  was 
called  the  Rostra  after  338  B.C.,  was  an  irregular  niche  inclos- 
ing the  monuments  in  question.  Toward  the  end  of  the  re- 
public the  level  of  the  Comitium  was  again  raised,  and  the 

i  Mitt,  1902,  30-31;  1906,  44-46. 


248  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

straight  Rostra  built  over  by  that  with  curved  steps  (p'pm,  Fig. 
48).  Finally,  at  the  end  of  the  republic,  in  consequence  of 
the  changes  made  either  by  Sulla,  Faustus  Sulla,  or  Caesar  him- 
self, the  level  of  the  Comitium  was  raised  again,  perhaps  twice 
in  quick  succession,  and  a  new  pavement  laid  which  also  cov- 
ered the  existing  Rostra  and  its  niche.  This  necessitated  the 
destruction  of  cippus,  cone,  and  sacellum,  and  the  rilling  up  of 
the  niche.  Owing  to  the  incompleteness  of  the  reports  as  yet 
published,  and  the  inadequacy  of  the  excavations  themselves, 
all  attempts  to  reconstruct  the  successive  stages  of  the  Comi- 
tium with  greater  accuracy  in  dates  and  matters  of  detail,  such 
as  the  shape  and  extent  of  the  Rostra  at  different  epochs,  must 
be  regarded  as  purely  tentative. 

The  attempt  to  explain  and  identify  these  monuments  has 
given  rise  to  a  vast  amount  of  discussion  and  speculation.1 
Two  passages  in  Dionysius,2  who  wrote  in  the  time  of 
Augustus,  state  (1)  that  some  say  that  a  stone  lion  which 
stood  in  the  chief  place  in  the  Forum,  near  the  Rostra,  marked 
the  tomb  of  Faustulus,  and  (2)  that  Hostilius  was  buried  in 
the  chief  place  in  the  Forum  and  honored  with  an  inscribed 
stele.  Festus,3  quoting  Verrius  Flaccus,  a  contemporary  of 
Dionysius,  says  that  a  niger  lapis  in  the  Comitium  marks  a 


1  For  a  complete  review  of  this  literature  to  1904,  see  G.  Tropea,  La  Stele 
Arcaica  del  Foro  Romano,  Oronaca  della  discussione.  Rivista  di  Storia 
Antica,  1899,  470-509;  1900,  101-136,  301-359;  1901,  157-184;  1902,  3fr45,  425- 
427 ;  1903,  529-534.  Also  Bursian's  Jahresbericht,  1905,  257-280.  Brief  lists 
of  the  more  important  works  in  Arch.  Am.  1900,  2  n. ;  Mitt.  1902,  26  n. ;  BO. 
1903,  138-139.  The  most  important  discussions  of  these  monuments  and  the 
remains  on  the  Comitium  are :  Studniczka,  Jahresheft  d.  oest.  Arch.  Instituts, 
1903,  129-155;  1904,  239-244;  Petersen,  Comitium,  Rostra,  Grab  des  Romulus, 
Rome,  1904;  Comitium  und  Rostra,  Mitt.  1906,  193-210;  Hulsen,  Mitt.  1905, 
29-46 ;  Pinza,  //  Comizio  romano  nelV  eta  repubblicana  (reprinted  from  Annali 
della  Societa  degli  Ingegneri  ed  Architetti  Italiani,  1905),  Rome,  1905.  See 
also  Delbruck,  Der  Apollotempel  auf  dem  Marsfeld,  Rome,  1903,  11;  AJA. 
1909,25-29;  (7^.1904,140;  1905,77-78;  1906,  134;  Mon.  d.  Lincei,l$05,  753- 
754;  Pais,  Legends,  15-34;  Richter,  BRT.  IV.  5-13. 

2i.  87;  iii.  1.  8177. 


THE   FORUM.  249 

locus  funestus,  set  apart  according  to  some  authorities  for  the 
grave  of  Romulus,  but  not  used  for  him,  but  for  Hostilius  or 
Faustulus.  Finally  two  passages  in  the  scholia  of  Horace,1 
state  (1)  that  Varro  said  that  Romulus  was  buried  post  rostra, 
and  (2)  that  in  the  opinion  of  many,  Romulus  was  buried  in 
rostris,  and  that  the  statues  of  two  lions  were  set  up  on  the 
spot  in  memory  of  this,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  present 
day.  In  consequence  of  these  statements  it  was  natural  to 
connect  the  pavement  of  black  marble'  with  the  lapis  niger, 
the  sacellum  with  the  tomb  of  Romulus  or  Faustulus  or 
Hostilius,  and  the  cippus  with  the  inscribed  stele  erected  in 
honor  of  Hostilius.  The  destruction  and  covering  up  of  the 
monuments  were  attributed  to  the  Gauls,  but  this  can  not 
have  been  the  case,  for  the  archaeological  evidence  shows 
that  this  covering  can  not  have  taken  place  before  the  time 
of  Sulla  at  the  earliest,  while  the  sharpness  of  the  edges 
of  the  stone  proves  that  the  fracture  was  soon  followed  by 
burial  in  the  earth.  Varro  might  therefore  have  seen  the 
monuments  in  his  youth.  It  is  also  a  matter  of  grave  doubt 
whether  the  term  lapis  niger  could  have  been  used  of  a  pave- 
ment, locus  nigro  lapide  stratus.  Furthermore  the  shape  of 
the  sacellum  is  not  like  that  of  any  known  tomb,  and  there 
is  strong  evidence  in  support  of  the  view  that  the  existing 
bases  are  only  the  lower  parts  of  higher  bases  which  are  to 
be  reconstructed  with  profiles  similar  to  that  of  the  altar 
erected  by  Calvinus  on  the  Palatine  (p.  141).  These  bases 
might  still  have  supported  recumbent  lions  or  served  as  altars. 
The  rectangular  structure  behind  these  bases,  evidently  some- 
what older  than  they,  seems  best  adapted  for  an  altar,  although 
some  regard  it  as  part  of  the  early  Rostra. 

Every  explanation  and  identification  of  these  monuments 
is  open  to  some  serious  objection,  but  perhaps  the  least 
unsatisfactory,  although  incomplete,  is  about  as  follows.  The 

1  Epod.  16.  13, 14 ;  Porphyr.  ib.;  Comm.  Cruq,  ib. 


250  TOPOGEAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

cippus,  with  its  archaic  inscription  referring  to  some  sacrifice 
or  ceremony  performed  by  the  king,  stood  here  from  a  very 
early  date,  and  close  beside  it  was  a  shrine  of  some  sort, 
both  being  regarded  with  such  veneration  that  they  were 
preserved  in  a  niche  when  the  first  platforms  for  public 
speakers  were  built  on  the  edge  of  the  Comitium.  In  process 
of  time  the  inscription  became  unintelligible,  and  the  legend 
of  Komulus,  as  it  gradually  developed,  became  attached  to 
the  neighboring  shrine,  so  that  it  came  to  be  regarded  as 
his  tomb,  or  that  of  one  of  his  companions.  In  the  fourth 
century  the  sacellum  was  restored  or  rebuilt,  and  consisted 
of  two  pedestals,  of  the  shape  suggested  above,  in  front  of  a 
rectangular  altar.  On  these  pedestals  were  the  statues  of 
two  lions,  and  a  lapis  niger  formed  part  of  the  group,  marking 
the  spot  as  a  locus  funestus.  At  the  end  of  the  republic, 
when  such  notable  changes  were  made  in  the  Comitium,  and 
the  Rostra  removed  to  the  Forum,  the  meaning  of  this  whole 
group  had  so  far  faded  away  in  the  mists  of  uncertainty  that 
no  hesitation  seems  to  have  been  felt  in  partially  destroying  it 
and  hiding  it  completely  from  view.  The  lions  may  very  likely 
have  been  removed  bodily,  and  Dionysius  may  have  seen  one 
of  them.  The  site  was  undoubtedly  marked  in  some  way, 
either  by  the  existing  pavement  of  black  marble,  which  took 
the  place  of  the  lapis  niger,  or  by  another  similar  pavement, 
perhaps  of  greater  area.  It  seems  very  difficult  at  present  to 
decide  between  these  two  possibilities. 

The  Career.  —  Between  the  temple  of  Concord  and  the  Curia, 
at  the  foot  of  the  Capitoline,  media  urbe  foro  imminens,1  is  the 
ancient  prison  of  Rome,  which,  in  part  at  least,  is  as  old  as 
any  structure  in  the  city.  Above  it  have  been  built  the  small 
churches  of  S.  Giuseppe  dei  Falegnami  and  S.  Pietro  in  Car- 
cere.  This  Career  consists  of  two  parts.2  The  lower  and  more 

i  Liv.  i.  33.         2  Sallust,  Cat.  55 ;  Abeken,  Mittelitalien,  191-197. 


THE   FORUM.  251 

ancient  part  was  a  circular  chamber,  about  7  metres  in  diameter 
at  the  bottom,  which  is  now  below  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
The  walls  of  this  chamber  .were  built  of  blocks  of  tufa,  laid  in 
such  a  way  that  each  successive  course  projects  farther  inward 
than  that  immediately  beneath  it.  Of  the  original  structure 
only  what  appears  to  be  the  three  lower  courses  of  stone  still 
exists,  although  it  is  quite  possible  that  there  may  be  one  still 
lower  that  is  now  hidden.  If  it  was  ever  built  up  to  a  top, 
this  chamber  must  have  been  about  10  metres  high,  and  have 
resembled  a  Mycenean  0o'Aos.  The  upper  part  of  the  structure 
was  removed  at  some  later  date  and  a  straight  wall  of  tufa 
about  5  metres  long,  differing  somewhat  from  the  earlier 
masonry  in  construction,  was  laid  across  the  circle,  like  a 
chord,  on  the  Forum  side.  The  chamber  was  then  covered  by 
an  exceedingly  flat  arch  of  tufa  blocks  fastened  together  with 
iron  clamps,  in  the  centre  of  which  is  an  aperture  0.60  metre 
in  diameter.  In  the  floor  is  a  well,  0.55  metre  in  diameter  and 
0.63  deep,  which  is  fed  by  a  spring.  From  this  room  a  drain 
leads  into  the  cloaca  of  the  Forum,  but  it  appears  to  be  of  very 
late,  even  perhaps  modern,  construction. 

The  upper  room  is  trapezoidal  in  shape,  its  longest  side,  5 
metres  in  length,  being  over  the  straight  side  of  the  lower 
room.  The  other  sides  measure  4.95,  4.90,  and  3.60  metres  in 
length.  The  roof  is  a  barrel-vault  5  metres  high,  in  the  centre 
of  which  is  a  square  opening,  apparently  at  one  time  the  only 
entrance.  On  the  outside  of  this  chamber  is  a  travertine  string 
course,  on  which  is  an  inscription1  recording  a  restoration  in 
the  consulship  of  C.  Vibius  Rufinus  and  M.  Cocceius  Kerva. 
This  is  generally  assigned  to  the  reign  of  Tiberius. 

The  lower  room  was  called,  in  classical  times,  TuUianum,2  and 
the  whole  prison  Career  simply,  the  name  Oustodia  Mamertini 
not  being  found  until  the  middle  ages.  Tullianum3  is  usually 

1  GIL.  vi.  1539. 

2  PI.  NH.  vii.  212;  Fest.  356;  Varro,  LL.  v.  151;  cf.  also  Fest.  264. 

»  Jordan,  1. 1. 453-455 ;  2.  323-328 ;  Gilbert,  II.  74-81 ;  Lanciani,  Acque,  23-24. 


252 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF   ANCIENT   ROME.  ' 


derived  from  tullius,  a  spring,  and  this  chamber  has  usually 
been  supposed  to  have  been  a  spring-house,  built  in  the  regal 

period,  which  was  afterward  made 
into  a  prison.  The  upper  room  was 
undoubtedly  first  built  at  an  early 
period,  but  materially  changed  in 
the  later  restoration.  Its  irregular 
shape  was  made  necessary  by  its 
position  between  two  streets.  Ad- 
joining it  are  other  chambers  which 
have  not  been  excavated  and  are 
not  accessible.  There  are  many 
difficulties  connected  with  this  ex- 
planation of  the  Tullianum  as  a 
spring-house,  and  an  attempt  has 
recently  been  made  to  prove  that  it 
was  an  ancient  tomb.1  However 
this  may  be,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
this  was  the  Career  of  the  republic, 
where  so  many  famous  victims  were 
executed  and  their  bodies  then 
thrown  out  on  the  scalae  Gemoniae 

A.   Opening  in  floor  over  the  Tulli-     (p.  295),  which  passed  close  by. 

anum-  At  lust  this  point  on  the  slope 

CC.   Cloaca.  J  ,r 

FF.  Front  wall  of  Career  with  in-   of  the  hill  were  the    stone-quarries 
scription.  that  came  to  be   used  as  a  prison, 

especially  for  slaves.  They  were  called  Lautumiae 2  (Aaro/u-wx), 
after  those  at  Syracuse  which  were  used  for  a  similar  purpose. 
It  is  possible  that  the  unexcavated  chambers  next  to  the 
Career  may  belong  to  the  prison  in  lautumiis. 

1  BC.  1902,  40-45;  Rendiconti  del  Lincei,  1902,  226-239. 

2  Varro,  LL.  v.  151;  Fest.  117;  Sen.  Contr.  ix.  27.  20;  Liv.  xxvi.  27;  xxxii. 
26;  xxxvii.3;  xxxix.  44;  Jordan,  I.  1.  505-507;  2.  343-345;  Gilbert,  11.80;  for 
an  erroneous  view  that  the  Lautumiae  were  near  the  temple  of  Faustina,  cf. 
NS.  1902,  96;  BC.  1902,  31-34;  Berl.  Phil.  Wochenschrift,  1903,  1647. 


FIG.  55.  —  PLAN  AND  SECTION 
OF  THE  CARCER. 


THE   FORUM.  253 

The  Arch  of  Augustus.  —  There  were  at  least  three  so-called 
triumphal  arches  in  the  Forum,  besides  the  fornix  Fabianus 
(p.  319)  at  the  entrance.  We  are  told  that  two  such  arches 
were  erected  in  honor  of  Augustus,  one1  in  29  B.C.  to  commem- 
orate the  victory  at  Actium,  and  the  other  in  19  B.C.  on  account 
of  the  return  of  the  standards  which  had  been  captured  by  the 
Parthians  at  Carrhae.2  This  return  of  the  standards  is  also 
recorded  on  a  denarius  of  18/17  B.C.,3  together  with  a  repre- 
sentation of  a  triple  arch.  The  foundations  of  such  an  arch 
have  been  discovered  between  the  temple  of  Julius  and  that  of 
Castor,4  being  laid  on  the  short  axis  of  the  former  temple  and 
close  to  it.  These  foundations  consist  of  travertine  blocks  on 
concrete  beds,  and  those  of  three  of  the  four  piers  are  in  situ. 
The  middle  piers  were  2.95  metres  wide,  and  those  at  the  sides 
1.35,  thus  giving  the  arch  a  peculiar  appearance.  The  width 
of  the  central  archway  was  4.05  metres,  and  that  of  the  side 
arches  2.55,  the  breadth  of  the  whole  structure  being  17.75 
metres.  The  pavement  in  the  central  passage  is  still  partially 
preserved,  and  some  of  the  marble  fragments  of  the  arch  have 
been  set  in  brick  beds  on  the  travertine  foundations.  If  the 
coin  referred  to  above  is  a  fairly  accurate  representation  of 
this  arch,  the  middle  portion  was  much  higher  than  the  sides, 
and  was  surmounted  by  a  quadriga.  When  the  temple  of  Cas- 
tor was  rebuilt  by  Tiberius,  the  south  part  of  the  arch  was 
largely  hidden  by  the  steps  of  the  temple,  which  were  very 
close  to  it.  The  foundations  of  this  arch  rest  upon  the  pave- 
ment of  a  street,  with  curbstones  of  tufa,  of  the  republican 
period,  which  ran  north  and  south  at  this  point. 

Another  coin5  of  the  period  represents  a  triple  arch,  but  of  a 
different  shape;  and  an  inscription6  cut  on  a  block  of  Parian 

1  Dio  Cass.  li.  19.  *  Dio  Cass.  liv.  8;  Schol.  Veron.  Aen.  vii.  606. 

8  Eckhel,  vi.  101 ;  Cohen,  Aug.  82. 

*Jahrb.  des  Inst.  1889,151-162;  Antike  Denkmaler,\.  14-15,27-28;  Mitt. 
1889,  243-244 ;  1905,  76-77. 

5  Eckhel,  vi.  106;  Cohen,  Aug.  544.  «  OIL.  vi.  873. 


254  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

marble,  about  3  metres  long,  which  was  found  close  to  these 
foundations,  records  a  dedication  to  Augustus  in  29  B.C.  This 
inscription  may  have  been  set  in  an  arch,  and  it  is  therefore 
somewhat  uncertain  whether  the  arch  which  stood  on  the 
foundations  that  have  been  discovered  was  erected  in  29  or 
19.  There  was  no  corresponding  arch  on  the  other  side  of  the 
temple  of  Julius. 

The  Arch  of  Tiberius.  —  This  arch  was  built  by  Tiberius l  to 
commemorate  the  return  of  the  standards  which  had  been  cap- 
tured by  the  Germans  in  8  A.D.  at  the  defeat  of  Varus.  It  stood 
at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  basilica  lulia,  not  spanning  the 
Sacra  via,  but  just  north  of  it.  The  street  was  made  narrower 
at  this  point,  and  the  curb  bent  toward  the  south  to  afford 
room  for  the  arch.  The  concrete  foundations,  9  metres  long 
by  6.3  wide,  have  recently  been  found.2  The  arch  was  single, 
and  was  approached  by  steps  from  the  level  of  the  Forum. 
Its  foundations  blocked  up  two  of  the  arches  (Fig.  46)  at  the 
southwest  end  of  the  viaduct  of  the  clivns  Capitolinus,  two  of 
the  pits  in  the  line  of  the  street  (p.  237),  and  also  the  arched 
opening  of  a  drain  built  of  tufa  blocks.  Into  this  drain  at  this 
point  ran  two  other  drains  at  an  acute  angle,  and  a  block  of 
tufa,  set  in  the  floor  of  the  archway,  served  to  regulate  the 
flow  of  the  currents.  Some  architectural  fragments  of  this 
arch  and  part  of  the  inscription  have  been  recovered.8 

The  Arch  of  Severus.  —  As  the  arch  of  Tiberius  stood  at  the 
south  end  of  the  Rostra,  it  has  been  thought  probable  that 
another  arch  stood  at  the  north  end;4  but  if  so,  it  must  have 
been  removed  to  make  room  for  the  great  arch  of  Severus, 
which  was  erected  in  203  A.D.  in  honor  of  Severus  and  his  two 
sons,  Geta  and  Caracalla.  This  dedication  is  recorded  in  the 

1  Tac.  Ann.  ii.  41. 

2  NS.  1900,  632;  BC.  1902,  26-27;  1903,  163;  CR.  1901,  329;  1906, 133;  Mitt. 
1902,  12. 

»  GIL.  vi.  906;  Jordan,  I.  2.  211-213. 

4  Perhaps  that  of  Drusus,  erected  in  23  A.D.    Cf.  Tac.  Ann.  ii.  83;  iv.  9. 


THE   FOKUM. 


255 


inscription l  which  is  repeated  on  both  sides  of  the  attic.  The 
bronze  letters  have  disappeared,  but  the  matrices  remain,  and 
it  can  be  seen  that  the  name  of  Geta  was  chiselled  away  after 
he  was  murdered  by  Caracalla.  This  arch  destroyed  the 


FIG.  56. — THE  ARCH  OF  SEFTIMIUS  SEVERUS  (BEFORE  THE  RECENT 
EXCAVATIONS). 

symmetry  of  the  Forum,  and  its  architecture  and  sculpture 
display  the  marked  artistic  decadence  of  the  period. 

The  arch  is  triple,2  of  Pentelic  marble,  and  stands  on  a  foun- 
dation of  travertine,  the  upper  part  of  which  was  covered  with 


GIL.  vi.  1033. 


2  CR.  1899,  233;  Mitt.  1902,  21-22. 


256  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT  ROME. 

marble  facing.  The  lower  courses  of  this  foundation  are  un- 
finished, and  must  have  been  covered  either  with  earth  or  by 
the  foundation  of  the  steps  that  always  formed  the  approach  to 
the  arch  from  the  Forum  side.  The  level  of  the  Augustan 
pavement  was  preserved  in  this  corner  of  the  Forum  until  a 
late  period,  as  is  shown  by  the  massive  concrete  base  in  front 
of  the  arch  on  which  is  set  the  pedestal  of  the  equestrian 
statue  of  Constantius,  dedicated  by  Naeratius  Cerialis,  prefect 
of  the  city  in  354  A.o.1  The  Augustan  pavement  on  which  this 
base  stands  is  3  metres  below  that  of  the  pavement  of  the  arch, 
and  1.40  below  that  of  the  lowest  steps  to  the  side  arches. 

The  arch  is  23  metres  high,  25  wide  and  11.85  deep,  the  cen- 
tral archway  being  12  metres  high  and  7  wide,  and  the  side 
archways  7.80  high  and  3  wide.  Between  the  central  and  side 
arches  are  vaulted  passages,  the  ceilings  of  which  are  coffered, 
with  rosettes  in  the  coffers.  On  each  face  of  the  arch  are  four 
fluted  Corinthian  columns,  8.78  metres  high  and  0.90  metre  in 
diameter  at  the  base.  These  columns  stand  free  from  the  arch 
on  projecting  pedestals,  and  behind  them  are  corresponding 
pilasters.  An  entablature  surrounds  the  arch,  and  above  it  is 
the  lofty  attic,  5.60  metres  in  height,  within  which  are  four 
chambers. 

Over  the  side  arches  are  narrow  bands  of  reliefs  represent- 
ing the  triumphs  of  Rome  over  conquered  peoples  ;  and  above 
these  bands  four  large  reliefs  which  represent  the  campaigns  of 
Severus  in  the  East.2  In  the  spandrels  of  the  central  arch  are 
winged  Victories,  and  in  those  of  the  side  arches,  river  gods. 
On  the  keystones  of  the  central  arch  are  reliefs  of  Mars  Victor, 
and  on  the  pedestals  of  the  columns,  Roman  soldiers  driving 
captives  before  them.  On  top  of  the  arch,  in  the  centre,  was 
originally  a  chariot  in  which  stood  Severus  and  Victory, 
escorted  by  Geta  and  Caracalla,  and  on  the  ends  four  eques- 
trian figures ;  but  of  these  statues  no  traces  have  been  found. 

1  GIL.  vi.  1158,  2  Strong,  Sculpture,  297-300. 


THE   FORUM.  257 

The  Arches  of  Janus.  —  Besides  the  temple  of  lanus  Geminus 
(p.  190),  a  lanus  medius1  is  mentioned  by  Cicero  and  Horace 
and  in  inscriptions  of  the  second  century,  and  later  commen- 
tators agree  with  the  literary  sources  in  making  it  the  head- 
quarters of  bankers  and  speculators.  They  also  seem  to  locate 
it  near  the  basilica  Aemilia.  A  lanus  primus  occurs  in  one 
inscription,2  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  this  was  in  the  Forum. 
The  Horatian  3  phrase,  haec  ianus  summus  ab  imo  prodocet,  can 
not  be  regarded  as  authority  for  a  lanus  summus  and  a  lanus 
imus.  The  most  probable  explanation 4  of  these  references  is 
that  lanus  medius  was  a  small  single  arch  which  stood  in  the 
Forum  near  the  basilica  Aerailia;  but  there  is  no  means  of 
deciding  whether  medius  refers  to  its  position  in  the  Forum, 
or  to  its  position  with  respect  to  other  similar  arches.  Those 
who  take  the  latter  view  suppose  that  these  arches  stood  at 
the  points  where  the  streets  entered  the  Forum ;  and,  in  sup- 
port of  this,  point  to  the  two  cases  of  possible  iani  on  the 
Rostra  relief,  the  remains  of  an  arch  across  the  vicus  lugarius 
(of  later  date),  the  presence  of  such  a  iantts  near  the  statue  of 
Vortumnus5  in  the  vicus  Tuscus,  and  the  statements  of  com- 
mentators of  the  later  empire.  Against  this  view  may  be  urged 
the  entire  absence  of  any  certain  reference  to  other  iani  in  the 
Forum.6 

The  Area  of  the  Forum.  —  After  the  completion  of  the  sur- 
rounding buildings,  the  open  area  between  them,  the  Forum 
proper,  formed  an  irregular  quadrilateral,  which  was  bounded 

1  Cic.  de  Off.  ii.  87 ;  Phil.  vS.  15;  vii.  16 ;  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  3. 18,  and  Porpkyrion's 
note ;  OIL.  vi.  5845,  10027. 

2  OIL.  vi.  12816.  8  Epist.  i.  1.  54. 
*  Cf.  Jordan,  I.  2.  214-218;  Richter,  Top.2  106-107. 

6  Hor.  Epist.  i.  20.  1;  cf.  Cic.  Verr.  i.  154  and  Asconius'  note;  Varro,  LL. 
v.  46;  Prop.  iv.  2.  5;  cf.  Berl.  Phil.  Wochenschrift,  1903, 1117. 

6  For  a  third  but  erroneous  view,  according  to  which  summus,  medius,  and 
imus  refer  to  points  on  a  street,  the  vicus  lanus,  which  ran  along  the  north 
side  of  the  Forum,  see  Bentley,  Hor.  Epist.  i.  1.  54,  and  Lanciani,  BC.  1890, 
100;  Ruins,  253-254. 


258  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

on  the  east  and  south  by  the  continuation  of  the  Sacra  via. 
The  length  of  this  area,  fl-om  the  foundation  wall  of  the  Rostra 
to  the  curb  of  the  street  in  front  of  the  temple  of  Julius 
Caesar,  is  102  metres  ;  its  width  from  the  steps  of  the  temple 
of  Castor  to  the  basilica  Aemilia,  45  metres,  and  from  the 
curb  of  the  Sacra  via  in  front  of  the  basilica  lulia  to  the  edge 
of  the  lapis  niger.  46  metres.  The  Forum  was  paved,  partially 
at  least,  as  early  as  the  fourth  or  third  century  B.C.  ;  but,  like 
the  Comitium,  its  level  was  gradually  raised  at  successive 
periods.  The  present  pavement  of  travertine  is  usually 
assigned  to  the  late  empire,  but,  although  some  of  it  has  un- 
doubtedly been  relaid,  it  probably  represents  in  general  the 
level  established  by  Augustus.  At  an  average  depth  of  about 
0.60  metre  beneath  this  pavement  are  considerable  portions 
of  an  earlier  one  of  travertine,  which  was  probably  laid  by 
Caesar,1  and  some  fragments  of  the  tufa  pavement  of  the 
republic  have  been  found  at  various  points,  part  of  which  is 
more  than  2  metres  below  the  later  level.  The  pavement  of 
the  Sacra  via  is  separated  from  that  of  the  area  by  a  travertine 
curb  (crepido),  the  raised  portion  of  which  is  0.72  metre  wide. 
In  this  curb,  at  intervals  of  from  0.60  to  0.80  metre,  are 
square  holes,  in  which  it  is  probable  that  the  poles  which  sup- 
ported awnings  were  set.  We  know  that  shelter  of  this  sort 
was  provided  in  the  Forum,2  and  similar  holes  are  visible  in 
the  latest  pavement. 

Like  the  Comitium,  the  Forum  was  incumbered  with  many 
statues,  honorary  columns,  and  similar  memorials.  As  early 
as  158  B.c.3  the  censors  decreed  that  all  statues  of  magistrates 
which  had  been  erected  without  the  sanction  of  the  state  should 
be  removed,  and  from  time  to  time  even  those  that  properly 
belonged  there  disappeared  to  make  room  for  others.  Almost 
nothing  is  known  from  literary  sources  about  any  of  the 


*  Cf.,  however,  Richter,  BET.  IV.  «  PI.  NH.  xix.  23,  24. 

s  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  30. 


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260  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

individual  statues ;  and  of  the  inscriptions  which  have  been 
recovered,  only  about  one  quarter  date  from  a  period  earlier 
than  that  of  the  Antonines,  and  the  same  is  true  of  the 
existing  monuments  themselves.  On  the  south  side  of  the 
area  is  a  row  of  large  cubical  pedestals  of  brick-faced  con- 
crete, once  covered  with  marble,  which  date  from  the  time  of 
Diocletian.  These  pedestals  supported  lofty  columns  of  red 
and  gray  granite  and  pavonazzetto.  Two  shafts  *  found  lying 
near  by  have  been  set  up  on  the  two  easternmost  pedestals,  the 
missing  architectural  members  being  restored  in  brick. 

In  front  of. the  Rostra  is  the  columna  Phocae,  a  fluted  Corin- 
thian column  of  white  marble,  1.39  metres  in  diameter  and 
13.60  high,  on  which  was  placed  the  statue  of  Phocas  in  gilt 
bronze.  The  inscription2  on  the  marble  base  states  that  it 
was  erected  in  608  A.D.  by  Smaragdus,  exarch  of  Italy,  in 
honor  of  the  eastern  emperor  Phocas.3  The  marble  base  rests 
on  a  square  brick  pedestal,  which  was  entirely  surrounded  by 
flights  of  nine  steps  made  of  tufa  blocks  taken  from  other 
structures.  These  steps  have  now  been  removed  from  the 
north  and  east  sides.  As  the  column  is  far  superior  in  style 
and  execution  to  the  work  of  so  late  a  period,  it  must  have  been 
taken  from  some  other  building  and  set  up  by  Smaragdus,  or 
else  it  was  already  standing  here,  and  the  inscription  refers 
only  to  the  erection  of  the  statue  of  Phocas.  The  latter  seems 
the  more  probable,  as  the  brick  pedestal  is  not  later  than  the 
fourth  century,  and  corresponds  in  general  with  those  just 
mentioned.  The  tufa  steps  belong  to  the  latest  period. 

In  front  of  the  temple  of  Caesar,  and  having  the  same  orien- 
tation, is  a  rectangular  concrete  base,  measuring  8  by  5  metres, 
the  top  of  which  is  at  the  level  of  the  early  imperial  pavement. 
At  the  northeast  corner  of  this  base,  1.70  metres  below  its  upper 
surface,  are  the  remains  of  the  tufa  pavement  of  the  republican 


i  Mitt.  1902,  59-60.  *  CIL.  vi.  1200. 

8  Jordan,  I.  2.  246;  Mitt.  1891,  88-90;  1902,  58-59;  1905,  68;  Atti,  577-580. 


THE   FORUM.  261 

period.  On  the  south  side  a  covered  drain  of  tufa  blocks  runs 
under  the  base.  This  drain  is  at  a  slightly  higher  level  than 
the  tufa  pavement.  On  the  base  are  seven  large  blocks  of 
travertine,  which,  while  probably  belonging  to  the  original 
superstructure,  do  not  seem  to  be  in  their  original  position. 
This  has  been  explained  by  some  as  the  pedestal  of  an  eques- 
trian statue  of  Q.  Marcius  Tremulus,1  consul  in  306  B.C.,  which  in 
Cicero's  time  stood  ante  Castoris,  but  had  disappeared  when 
Pliny  wrote.  The  existing  remains,  however,  can  not  have 
antedated  the  Augustan  epoch,  and  if  restored  then  in  their 
present  dimensions,  they  can  hardly  have  disappeared  in  so 
short  a  time.  A  second  explanation  is  that  this  base  is  the 
foundation  of  the  marble  monument  to  the  family  of  Augustus, 
to  which  the  fragments  of  the  great  epistyle,  now  lying  in 
front  of  the  basilica  Aemilia  (p. 199),  belonged. 

Very  near  the  centre  of  the  area  of  the  Forum  is  a  large 
concrete  base,  11.80  metres  long  and  5.90  metres  wide,  the  top 
of  which  is  1.50  metres  below  the  level  of  the  latest  pavement. 
This  mass,  2.78  metres  high,  cuts  into  the  main  cuniculus 
(p.  266)  and  one  of  the  cross-passages,  and  must  therefore 
have  been  built  after  them.  On  the  other  hand,  the  concrete 
construction  can  not  be  later  than  the  end  of  the  first  century. 
In  the  tops  of  this  base  are  set  three  square  blocks  of  travertine 
in  which  are  holes  about  0.44  metre  square  and  0.15  deep,  which 
seem  well  adapted  to  hold  supports  of  some  kind,  although 
there  is  in  them  no  trace  of  metal  or  melted  lead.  This  base  is 
undoubtedly  the  foundation  of  the  pedestal  of  the  Equus  Domi- 
tiani,2  an  equestrian  statue  of  Domitian  erected  in  91  A.D.  in 
honor  of  his  campaign  in  Germany.  In  consequence  of  the 
damnatio  decreed  by  the  senate  after  his  death,  this  monument 
was  probably  removed,  which  would  explain  the  entire  absence 

1  Liv.  ix.  43;  Cic.  Phil.vi.  13;  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  23;  NS.  1904,  106;  OR.  1904, 
330;  BC.  1904,  178-179:  Mitt.  1905,  73-74;  Atti,  583-584. 

2  Stat.  Silv.  i.  1.  29;  CR.  1904,  139,  328-329;  BC.  1904,  75-82, 174-178;  Mitt. 
1905,  71-72 ;  Atti,  574-577. 


262  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

of  any  trace  of  the  superstructure.  In  the  east  end  of  the 
base  a  hollow  block  of  travertine  was  found,  containing  five 
clay  jars  like  those  discovered  in  the  necropolis  of  the  Sacra 
via  (p.  188).  In  these  jars  were  found  sand,  stone,  pitch,  and 
fragments  of  tortoise  shell,  and  in  one  of  them  a  very  small 
piece  of  quartz  with  a  bit  of  gold  attached  to  it,  but  nothing 
suggestive  of  funeral  gifts.  It  is  quite  uncertain  whether  this 
deposit  represents  the  contents  of  early  graves,  disturbed 
when  this  foundation  was  laid  and  therefore  preserved  in  this 
way,  or  whether  it  was  connected  with  some  ritual  attending 
the  inauguration  of  the  statue. 

In  the  middle  of  the  area,  close  to  the  course  of  the  Cloaca 
Maxima,  is  the  low  pedestal  of  an  equestrian  statue,  standing 
directly  upon  the  travertine  pavement.  This  is  made  of  brick 
on  which  blocks  of  travertine  and  fragments  of  marble  columns 
were  placed,  but  in  spite  of  its  wretched  construction  it  may 
have  been  the  pedestal  of  an  equestrian  statue  of  the  emperor 
Constantine.1  It  has  also  been  connected  with  an  equestrian 
statue  of  Severus  2  that  stood  somewhere  in  the  Forum. 

Near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  Eostra  lies  a  square  base 3 
of  white  marble,  with  reliefs  on  its  four  sides,  and  the  inscrip- 
tion Caesarum  decennalia  feliciter.  This  was  found  in  front  of 
the  Curia  in  1547,  and  in  1500  a  similar  base  had  been  dis- 
covered with  the  inscription  Augnstorum  vicennalia  feliciter. 
These  bases  probably  supported  columns  and  were  set  up  in 
303  A.D.  in  honor  of  Diocletian  and  his  colleagues.  In  this 
vicinity  the  remains  of  several  monuments  and  inscriptions 
have  been  found,  which  record  the  struggles  during  the  last  cen- 
tury of  the  western  empire.  Some  of  them  have  been  left  in 
the  Forum.  One  consists  of  a  travertine  base,  supporting  a 
marble  block,  itself  originally  the  pedestal  of  an  equestrian 
statue.  This  block  had  been  set  upon  end,  and  the  later 

1  OIL.  vi.  1141 ;  Not.  Reg.  viii. 

2  Herodian,  ii.  9;  Melanges,  1900,  209-222;  Mitt.  1905,  74-75. 
8  OIL.  vi.  1204,  1205,  31262;  Strong,  Sculpture,  323. 


THE   FORUM.  263 

inscription  cut  transversely  across  the  field  of  an  earlier  one 
that  had  been  erased.  This  was  done  in  405  A.D.,  by  vote 
of  the  state,  to  commemorate  the  victory  of  Stilicho  over 
Radagaisus.1  Near  by  are  some  fragments  of  the  base  of  a 
quadriga,  erected  in  honor  of  Arcadius  and  Honorius,  to  com- 
memorate their  victory  over  the  African  rebel,  Gildo,  in 
398  A.D.2 

In  1872  the  remains  of  a  long  brick  structure  were  found, 
which  extended  across  the  east  end  of  the  area  of  the  Forum, 
just  west  of  the  Sacra  via.  All  that  was  found  was  destroyed, 
except  the  south  end  of  the  building,  it  being  supposed  that 
the  structure  was  medieval.  It  is,  however,  probable  that  it 
belonged  to  the  late  empire.3 

In  front  of  the  basilica  lulia,  between  the  second  and  third 
brick  bases,  beginning  at  the  east,  and  just  beneath  the  trav- 
ertine pavement,  are  the  lower  courses  of  brick  walls  which 
inclose  two  rectangular  rooms.  These  rooms  were  originally 
paved  with  marble,  but  that  has  been  covered  over  with  a 
pavement  of  large  stamped  tiles 4  of  the  period  of  Diocletian, 
or  soon  after,  with  an  orientation  different  from  that  of  the 
building.  The  third  brick  base  was  built  over  one  corner  of 
this  structure.  The  concrete  foundation  of  these  two  rooms 
seems  to  extend  south  across  the  main  cuniculus  (p.  266)  to  the 
foundation  of  the  equus  Domitiani,  and  to  have  been  covered 
with  corresponding  pavements  of  marble  and  tiles.  This  has 
been  identified  as  a  Tribunal  Principatus,5  but  incorrectly. 

A  short  distance  northeast  of  the  column  of  Phocas  are  the 
two  marble  plutei,  or  balustrades,  frequently  called  the  anaglypha 
Traiani,  which  are  generally  supposed  to  have  formed  part  of 
the  Rostra  (p.  222),  standing  either  on  each  side  of  the  ap- 
proach or  at  the  ends  of  the  platform.  They  now  stand,  just 
as  they  were  found,  on  rough  foundations  of  travertine  which 

i  OIL.  vi.  31987.  «  Mitt.  1895,  52-58 ;  GIL.  vi.  1187,  31256. 

8  Richter,  BRT.  IV.  26-27.          *  OIL.  xv.  1569  a.  2-9. 
8  Berl.  Phil.  Wochenschrift,  1906,  221;  CR.  1906, 132. 


264  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT  ROME. 

rest  directly  upon  the  pavement  of  the  area,  having  evidently 
been  used  during  the  early  middle  ages  as  the  foundation  of 
some  building.  These  balustrades  date  from  the  time  of  Tra- 
jan or  Hadrian,  and  are  made  of  several  blocks  of  marble  of 
unequal  size.1  A  little  modern  restoration  has  been  made  with 
pieces  of  white  marble,  in  order  that  they  may  stand  firmly. 
They  measure  5.37  metres  in  length,  1.75  in  breadth,  and 
stand  parallel  to  each  other,  2.95  metres  apart.  The  inner 
surfaces  of  both  have  the  same  reliefs,  figures  of  a  sheep, 
swine,  and  bull,  adorned  with  garlands  and  fillets,  represent- 
ing the  sacrifice  of  the  suovetauriHa.  On  the  outer  side  of  the 
west  pluteus,  at  the  left  end,  is  a  platform  adorned  with  rostra 
in  profile,  upon  which  stands  a  man  clad  in  a  toga,  attended  by 
lictors.  In  front  of  the  platform  is  a  group  of  men,  also  clad 
in  togas,  in  the  act  of  applauding.  Just  to  the  right  of  the 
centre  is  a  platform  upon  which  sits  the  emperor,  and  before 
him  stands  a  woman  who  seems  to  hold  a  child  on  her  left 
arm,  and  to  be  leading  another.  Several  men  stand  near.  At 
the  right  end  of  the  platform  is  a  figure  of  Marsyas  with  a 
wine-skin,  and  a  fig-tree  on  a  square  base.  On  the  outer  side 
of  the  other  (the  east)  pluteus,  at  the  left  end,  is  a  similar 
representation  of  the  fig-tree  and  Marsyas.  The  central  por- 
tion is  occupied  by  figures  of  men  who  are  bringing  burdens 
on  their  shoulders,  and  throwing  them  down  in  a  pile  in  the 
foreground.  The  right  end  of  this  pluteus  has  been  broken, 
but  there  are  traces  of  a  platform  with  a  seated  figure.  The 
background  of  each  relief  is  formed  by  a  succession  of  build- 
ings and  arches,  and  the  general  explanation  is  that  these 
buildings  represent  the  sides  of  the  Forum,  as  they  would 
appear  to  a  speaker  standing  between  them  on  the  Rostra, 
while  the  scenes  in  the  foreground  represent  Trajan's  charity 
in  providing  for  the  support  of  the  poor  in  various  parts  of 
Italy,  and  his  measures  for  the  remitting  of  taxes  on  iuheri- 

i  Ann.  d.  1st.  1872,  309;  Mon.  d.  1st.  ix.  47,  48. 


o.  265  The  Suovetanrflla. 

FIG.  58. —THE  MARBLE  PLCTTBI. 


266  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

tances  already  due  the  imperial  treasury.  The  precise  identi- 
fication of  the  buildings  has  given  rise  to  much  discussion,1  and 
the  view  just  stated  is  open  to  serious  objections.  According  to 
another  theory,  which  has  recently2  been  more  fully  developed, 
the  plutei  formed  part  of  some  monument  erected  in  honor  of 
Trajan  near  the  tribunal  praetorium  (p.  268),  and  the  two 
reliefs  represent  the  buildings  on  the  south  side  only  of  the 
Forum,  the  statue  of  Marsyas  being  repeated  on  each  slab. 
This  explanation  has  much  to  commend  it. 

In  the  centre  of  the  area  a  system  of  underground  passages 
(cuniculi)  has  been  found.3  These  passages  are  about  1.5 
metres  wide  and  2.40  metres  high,  with  tufa  walls  and  a  con- 
crete vault,  the  crown  of  which  is  about  1.5  metres  below  the 
latest  pavement  of  the  area.  These  cuniculi  themselves  date 
from  the  Caesarian  period.  The  longest  passage,  120  metres 
in  length,  extends  from  the  Kostra  to  the  front  of  the  temple 
of  Caesar,  and  is  crossed  at  right  angles  by  four  others.  Near 
the  ends  of  these  cross-passages,  and  in  two  of  them  near  the 
middle  also,  are  small,  nearly  rectangular  chambers,  with  a 
large  block  of  travertine  set  in  the  middle  of  the  pavement. 
At  the  intersections  of  the  main  and  cross-passages,  and  at 
two  other  points  in  each  of  the  latter,  are  square  shafts  in  the 
vaulting,  surrounded  by  slabs  of  travertine,  the  angles  of  which 
are  much  worn  by  ropes.  These  marks,  and  others  on  the  trav- 
ertine blocks  in  the  square  chambers,  seem  to  indicate  the 
presence  of  windlasses  and  tackle,  but  whether  this  machinery 
was  used  to  move  heavy  weights  over  the  Forum,  or,  less  prob- 
ably, the  apparatus  of  gladiatorial  games,  is  quite  uncertain. 


1  See  the  latest  literature:  Petersen,  Die  Relief schranken  aiif  dem  romi- 
schen  Forum,  Abhandl.  A.  v.  Oettingen  .  .  .  gewidmet,  1898,  130-143;  BC. 
1900,145-146;  Mitt.  1897,326-327;  1902,21;  AJA.  1901,  58-82;  Strong,  Sculpt- 
ure, 151-157. 

2  AJA.  1910,310-317. 

*BC.  1902,  27-28;  1903,  101,  271-272;  CR.  1902,  94;  1903,  328;  1904,  140; 
Mitt.  1902,  57 ;  1905,  64-66. 


THE   FORUM.  267 

Besides  the  lacus  luturnae  there  were  two  other  lacus  in  the 
Forum.  One  of  these,  the  lacus  Servilius,1  is  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  the  massacres  of  Sulla,  and  is  generally  supposed 
to  have  been  near  the  vicus  lugarius.  The  other,  the  so-called 
lacus  Ourtius,  has  recently  been  found  between  the  column  of 
Fhocas  and  the  equus  Domitiani.  Three  stories  were  current 
among  the  Romans  as  to  the  origin  of  this  lacus.2  One  was 
that  at  the  beginning  of-  the  regal  period  a  chasm  suddenly 
opened  in  the  centre  of  the  Forum  valley.  When  the  sooth- 
sayers asserted  that  this  could  be  closed  only  by  the  sacrifice 
of  that  quo  plurimum  populus  Romanus  posset,  a  youth  named 
Curtius  leaped  in,  and  the  chasm  closed  over  him.  Accord- 
ing to  the  second  story,  the  swamp  was  called  the  lacus 
Curtius  from  the  Sabine  Mettius  Curtius,  who  rode  his  horse 
into  it  when  hard  pressed  by  the  Romans,  and  escaped.  The 
third  explanation  was  that  the  lacus  was  a  spot  of  ground 
which  had  been  struck  by  lightning,  and  then  inclosed  by  a 
stone  curb,  or  puteal,  by  C.  Curtius,  consul  in  445  B.C.  The 
existing  remains 3  of  the  lacus  consist  of  a  layer  of  blocks  of 
brown  and  gray  tufa,  forming  an  irregularly  trapezoidal  field 
about  10  metres  long  and  nearly  9  in  greatest  width,  on  which 
is  a  second  layer  of  blocks  of  travertine  surrounded  with  a 
curb.  Only  part  of  this  layer  has  been  preserved.  Its  upper 
surface  is  on  the  same  level  as  that  of  the  curb  of  the  shaft  of 
the  adjacent  cuniculus,  for  which  it  has  been  cut  away,  and  it 
is  clear  that  this  lacus  is  a  restoration  of  an  earlier  structure, 
carried  out  at  the  time  of  the  Caesarian  changes  in  the  Forum. 
The  level  of  the  travertine  layer  is  0.60  to  0.80  metre  below  that 
of  the  existing  travertine  pavement  of  the  Forum.  On  its  curb 
are  marks  that  indicate  the  existence  of  a  screen  or  balustrade, 
on  which,  as  has  been  suggested,  the  famous  archaistic  relief  of 

1  Cic.  pro  Rose.  Am.  89;  Fest.  290;  Sen.  de  Prov.  3.  7. 

2  Varro,  LL.  v.  148-150;  Liv.  i.  12;  vii.  6;  Dionys.  ii.  42. 

8  OR.  1904,  329-330;  1905,  74;  BC.  1904,  181-187;  Mitt.  1905,  68-71;  Atti, 
580-582;  Strong,  Sculpture,  324-326. 


268  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

Mettius  Curtius,  found  near  this  spot  in  1553  and  now  in  the 
palazzo  dei  Conservator!,  may  have  stood.  On  the  western 
part  of  the  lacus  are  traces  of  rectangular  bases  which  suggest 
the  arae  siccae  of  Ovid.1  Into  the  puteal  of  the  lacus  in  the 
time  of  Augustus  people  of  all  ranks  were  accustomed  to  throw 
coins  once  a  year,  as  an  offering  for  the  health  of  the  emperor.2 
It  is  probable  that  there  had  once  been  a  pool  or  fountain 
here,  which  had  dried  up,  and  its  place  was  marked  by  a 
puteal.  The  lacus  is  not  mentioned  after  the  latter  part  of  the 
first  century.3 

On  the  north  side  of  the  Rostra  there  were  statues  of  three 
Sibyls,  which  were  called  the  Tria  Pata,4  and,  in  the  later  cen- 
turies of  the  empire,  gave  this  name  to  the  whole  area  about 
the  Curia.  Still  later  it  was  called  the  Palma  Aurea.  These 
statues  were  said  to  have  been  set  up  originally  on  the  Co- 
mitium  in  the  time  of  Tarquinius  Priscus,  but  they  afterward 
disappeared,  and  were  restored  by  Messalla  and  Pacuvius 
Taurus  in  the  time  of  Augustus. 

At  the  east  end  of  the  Forum,  near  the  temple  of  Castor, 
was  the  puteal  Libonis 5  or  Scribonianum,6  said  to  have  been  built 
by  a  certain  Scribonius  Libo  on  a  spot  that  had  been  struck  by 
lightning,  and  represented  on  a  coin  of  the  gens  Sempronia.7 
Near  the  arch  of  Augustus  are  six  blocks  of  travertine,  with 
marks  indicating  the  presence  of  a  metal  balustrade  on  their 
upper  surface,  which  seem  to  form  part  of  a  circular  puteal. 
These  have  been  identified  with  the  puteal  Libonis,  but  with- 
out sufficient  reasons. 

Near  the  lacus  Curtius  was  the  tribunal  praetorium,  a  sort  of 


i  Fast.  vi.  401-405.  2  Suet.  Aug.  57.  8  PI.  NH.  xv.  78. 

<Procop.  Bell.  Goth.  i.  25;  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  22;  Jordan,  I.  2.  259,  349;  II. 
482. 

5  Schol.  Pers.  iv.  49;  Cic.  pro  Sest.  18;  Hor.  Epist.  i.  19.  8,  and  Porphyrion's 
note.  Cf.  Melanges,  1908,  261-263. 

e  Fest.  333;  Jordan,  I.  2.  403;  Gilbert,  III.  159. 

7  Babelon,  Monnaies,  Aemilia  11,  Scribonia  8. 


THE   FORUM.  269 

wooden  platform,  which  perhaps  rested  on  a  stone  foundation, 
but  was  not  a  monumental  structure.  This  was  the  judgment 
seat  of  the  praetor,  and  was  originally  on  the  Comitium.1- 
The  date  of  its  removal  to  the  Forum  is  not  known  with 
certainty,  but  it  was  probably  in  the  second  century  B.C., 
a  period  marked  by  the  transfer  of  the  coinitia  to  the  Forum. 
In  the  travertine  pavement  in  front  of  the  column  of  Phocas 
are  now  visible  the  matrices  for  bronze  letters,  0.30  metre 
high,  of  the  inscription  L.  NAEVIVS.  L  .  .  .  DENTS  PR. 
This  is  evidently  the  praetor,  L.  Naevius  Surdinus,  whose  name 
occurs  on  the  back  of  the  archaistic  relief  of  Mettius  Curtius 
(p.  267),  and  who  is  probably  to  be  identified  with  the  triumvir 
monetalis  of  15  B.C.  Another  inscription  of  a  praetor  was  found 
here  in  1817,  so  that  it  seems  quite  certain  that  this  was  the 
site  of  the  tribunal,2  and  that  this  part  of  the  pavement  at  least 
belongs  to  the  Augustan  period.  No  mention  of  this  tribunal 
occurs  after  the  time  of  Augustus,  when  all  law  business  began 
to  be  transferred  to  the  imperial  fora.  Near  by  was  a  statue 
of  Marsyas,3  of  unknown  origin,  but  it  may  well  have  been 
erected  when  the  tribunal  praetorium  was  removed  to  the 
Forum.  Marsyas  was  regarded  as  a  symbol  of  liberty,4  and 
the  type,  occurs  on  coins  of  cities  which  enjoyed  special  privi- 
leges. The  statue  in  the  Forum  is  represented  on  a  coin5  of 
the  first  century  B.C.,  and  on  the  marble  balustrades,  where 
the  satyr  is  figured  as  standing  upright  with  a  wine-skin  over 
his  shoulder.6  The  statue  was  standing  at  the  beginning  of 
the  second  century. 

Near  the  statue  of  Marsyas  were  a  fig-tree  and  vine, 
which  had  sprung  from  chance  seeds,  and  an  olive-tree.  The 
excavations  have  disclosed  a  spot  of  ground  about  4  metres 

1  Liv.  xxvii.  50 ;  Jordan,  I.  2.  402. 

2  CR.  1906,  133;  OIL.  vi.  1278;  Richter,  BRT.  IV.  28. 

»  Hor.  Sat.  i.  6.  120,  and  Schol. ;  PI.  NH.  xxi.  9;  Jordan,  I.  2.  205-266. 
4  Serv.  ad  Aen.  in.  20.  6  Babelon,  Monnaies,  Marcia  42. 

e  Arch.  Am.  1891,  14-15;  Mitt.  1892,  287-288. 


270  TOPOGKAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  HOME. 

square,  between  the  marble  plutei  and  the  Naevius  inscription, 
where  there  is  no  pavement,  and  here  we  may  reasonably  place 
these  trees.  An  altar,  which  had  formed  part  of  the  group, 
was  removed  when  the  last  gladiatorial  games  were  given 
by  Julius  Caesar.1 

The  increase  in  the  number  of  jury  trials  during  the  last 
century  of  the  republic  must  have  necessitated  the  erection 
of  other  tribunals  besides  that  of  the  praetor,  but  we  know 
definitely  of  only  one,  the  tribunal  Aurelium,  which  is  men- 
tioned several  times  in  Cicero,2  and  was  probably  built  by 
M.  Aurelius  Cotta,  consul  in  74  B.C.  The  gfradus  Aurelii,  also 
mentioned  by  Cicero,3  was  undoubtedly  another  name  for  the 
same  structure,  the  gradus  being  the  rows  of  steps  which  led 
up  to  the  platform  proper.  The  exact  site  of  this  tribunal  is 
of  course  unknown.4  According  to  the  Notitia  a  shrine  dedi- 
cated to  the  Genius  populi  Bomani  stood  near  the  Rostra. 

The  pila  Horatia 5  was  a  memorial  of  the  contest  between  the 
Horatii  and  the  Curiatii.  It  was  probably  originally  a  column, 
but  is  described  in  the  time  of  Augustus  as  being  the  corner 
pillar  of  one  of  the  halls  at  the  entrance  of  the  Forum,  that  is, 
probably,  of  the  basilica  lulia. 

Drainage.  —  The  recent  excavations  have  brought  to  light  a 
complicated  network  of  sewers,  extending  from  the  slope  of 
the  Capitoline  to  the  Velia.  They  lie  at  various  levels,  and 
show  that  the  drainage  of  this  district  was  always  a  most  diffi- 
cult problem.  Some  of  these  sewers  are  undoubtedly  of  early 
republican  date ;  but  the  gradual  changes  in  level  and  the  great 
building  activity  of  the  early  empire  necessitated  the  construc- 
tion of  new  cloacae,  and  the  consequent  neglect  of  the  old. 

*  PI.  NH.  xv.  77-78.  2  pro  Sest.  34;  in  Pis.  11 ;  de  Domo,  54. 

8  Pro  Cluent.  93;  pro  Place.  66;  Jordan,  I.  2.  405. 

4  See,  however,  O'Connor,  AJA.  1900,  303-309,  and  University  of  Wisconsin 
Bulletin,  1904, 178-182. 

6Liv.  i.  26;  Dionys.  iii.  22;  Schol.  Bob.  Cic.  pro  Mil.  p.  277;  Gilbert,  II. 
67-70;  Jordan,  I.  2.  394. 


THE   FORUM.  271 

The  official  reports  have  contained  as  yet  little  information, 
except  with  regard  to  the  Cloaca  Maxima. 

Previous  to  the  recent  excavations,  the  supposed  original 
Cloaca  Maxima  (p.  107)  had  been  traced  along  the  east  side  of 
the  Curia  and  Cornitium  to  a  point  not  far  from  the  sculptured 
plutei,  where  it  turned  sharply  to  the  east,  and,  after  continu- 
ing in  this  direction  about  40  metres,  turned  again  sharply  to 
the  south  and  crossed  the  area  of  the  Forum.  It  passed  under 
the  east  end  of  the  basilica  lulia,  and  thence  into  the  Velabrum. 
The  excavation  of  the  basilica  Aemilia  has  shown  that  at  least 
all  that  part  of  this  cloaca  which  skirts  the  basilica  dates 
from  the  early  empire,  and  was  probably  the  work  of  Agrippa.1 
This  new  course  was  necessitated  by  the  enlargement  of  the 
basilica  toward  the  west,  in  the  year  34  B.C.  The  side  walls 
of  the  cloaca  rest  partly  upon  the  tufa  pavement  (p.  235)  of 
the  republican  period  in  front  of  the  basilica,  and  the  top  of 
its  vault  is  about  1.50  metres  above  the  level  of  the  republican 
Comitium.  Furthermore,  the  stone  out  of  which  this  part  of 
the  cloaca  was  constructed  had  been  taken  from  republican 
buildings  (cf.  Fig.  50). 

Beneath  the  nave  of  the  basilica  an  earlier  channel  of  this 
sewer  has  been  found,  crossing  the  building  obliquely  in  a 
northeast-southwest  direction.  The  original  channel  has  been 
widened  and  repaired,  so  that  now  the  lower  courses  of  the 
walls  and  the  pavement  are  of  travertine,  and  the  upper  part  of 
the  walls  of  tufa.  Where  the  wall  supporting  the  north  row  of 
columns  of  the  nave  crosses  the  line  of  this  sewer,  three  large 
blocks  of  travertine  lie  in  the  channel,  evidently  to  afford  ad- 
ditional support  for  the  wall  above.  This  sewer  continued 
originally  in  a  straight  line  toward  the  column  of  Phocas, 
probably  as  far  as  the  present  west  corner  of  the  basilica;  but 
just  where  it  passed  under  the  main  longitudinal  wall  which 


l  Mitt.  1902,  29,  44,  57-68;  1905,  67;  CR.  1901,  86,  137-138;  BC.  1900,  60-61, 
279-280;  1903,96,99. 


272  TOPOGKAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

separates  the  nave  from  the  tabernae,  a  branch  sewer  was 
built.  This  crosses  the  rest  of  the  basilica  iu  a  line  perpen- 
dicular to  its  main  axis,  at  an  angle  of  about  30°  with  the 
other  channel,  and  meets  the  sewer  of  Agrippa  about  where  it 
turns  south  to  cross  the  area  of  the  Forum.  Although  the 
existing  masonry  of  these  sewers  is  not  earlier  than  the  Augus- 
tan building  of  the  basilica,  it  is  clear  that  this  was  the  original 
line  of  drainage.  The  basilica,  when  rebuilt  in  34  B.C.,  was 
extended  over  the  earlier  Cloaca  Maxima,  and  the  new  course 
of  the  sewer  was  constructed  round  the  northwest  end  of  the 
building.  The  pavement  in  front  of  the  restored  basilica  must 
have  rested  almost  directly  upon  the  top 'of  the  cloaca.  In 
the  time  of  Plautus1  the  Cloaca  Maxima  was  an  uncovered 
canalis,  and  probably  continued  to  be  such  until  the  Caesarian 
period. 

The  principal  sewer  west  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima  seems  to 
have  been  that  which  runs  beneath  the  clivus  Capitolinus. 
Its  course 2  has  been  traced  from  the  via  di  Marf orio,  through 
the  vicus  lugarius  (via  della  Consolazione)  as  far  as  the  church 
of  S.  Maria  della  Consolazione.  The  section  nearest  the  church 
is  of  brick,  with  brick  pavement  and  concrete  vaulting,  and 
dates  from  the  empire.  The  rest  is  of  early  date,  being  built 
of  tufa  blocks,  with  a  tufa  pavement  and  flat  tufa  top,  thus 
having  a  rectangular  section.  The  pavement  of  this  sewer  is 
10  metres  below  the  level  of  the  via  della  Consolazione.  In 
the  Forum,  the  crown  of  its  vault  is  higher  than  the  substruc- 
tures of  the  clivus  Capitolinus.  Between  this  sewer  and  the 
upper  slope  of  the  hill  is  a  network  of  ancient  drains,  running 
at  various  angles  and  levels ;  and  beneath  the  foundation  of 
the  steps  of  the  temple  of  Saturn  is  a  vaulted  sewer  of  tufa,  of 
very  early  date,  and  parallel  to  the  front  of  the  temple.3  This 
sewer  presents  a  peculiar  appearance  on  account  of  a  sort  of 


i  Cure.  476.   «  NS.  1899,  49;  BC.  1899,  248-2.50;  1903,  162;  Mitt.  1902,  9. 
8  Mitt.  1902,  9;  CR.  1899,  234,  464;  BC.  1903, 162-163. 


THE  FORUM.  273 

shelf  that  has  been  cut  in  the  side  of  the  channel.  For  other 
drains  near  by,  at  a  lower  level,  see  p.  254. 

The  slope  from  the  Velia  to  the  Forum  proper  was  drained 
into  the  basin  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima  by  means  of  a  sewer  under 
the  Sacra  via.  Sections  of  this  sewer  have  been  excavated  near 
the  summa  Sacra  via,  where  the  construction  is  of  tufa  blocks 
with  a  tile  roof ;  in  front  of  the  basilica  of  Constantine,1  where 
it  is  of  opus  reticulatum  of  tufa ;  and  along  the  north  side  of 
the  Eegia  and  temple  of  Julius  Caesar,  where  the  work  is  also 
of  opus  reticulatum.  It  is  evident  that  this  sewer  was  of  early 
date,  but  that  it  underwent  considerable  change  in  line  and  con- 
struction, at  later  periods. 

During  the  recent  excavations  more  than  thirty  wells  (putei) 
of  various  depths  and  sizes  have  been  found  scattered  through 
the  Forum.  Most  of  these  wells  belong  either  to  the  republic 
or  to  the  middle  ages,  although  there  are  a  few  of  the  interven- 
ing period.  Some  are'  fed  by  springs,  and,  after  being  cleaned 
out,  have  begun  to  flow.  Their  presence  in  such  numbers  is 
puzzling.  The  so-called  pozzi  rituali,  which  probably  were  con- 
nected with  the  drainage  system,  have  been  described  on  p.  237. 

i  NS.  1899,  266;  EG.  1902,  34. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   IMPERIAL  FORA. 

BY  the  middle  of  the  first  century  B.C.  the  district  north  of 
the  Forum,  extending  between  the  Quirinal  and  the  Capitoline 
to  the  line  of  the  Servian  wall,  had  become  one  of  the  most 
densely  populated  in  the  city,  as  it  contained  almost  no  public 
buildings.  Previous  to  179  B.C.  the  fish-market,  forum  Pisca- 
torium 1  or  Piscarium,  stood  here  ;  but  in  that  year  M.  Fulvius 
Nobilior  erected  for  it,  and  for  the  butchers'  shops  that  had  been 
banished  from  the  Forum  in  the  fourth  century,  a  macellum, 
or  general  market.  In  the  time  of  Augustus  an  important 
market,  known  as  the  macellum  Liviae 2  (p.  470),  was  erected  on 
the  Esquiline,  and  the  earlier  market  seems  to  have  been 
removed  when  the  forum  Pacis  was  built. 

The  rapid  increase  in  population  had  made  the  old  Forum 
too  small,  and  it  was  with  the  object  of  providing  adequate 
space  for  political  and  business  requirements,  as  well  as  to 
beautify  the  city  itself,  that  Caesar  began  the  series  of  imperial 
fora.  His  plans  were  comprehensive,  and  included  the  conver- 
sion of  this  district  into  public  fora,  which  should  form  a 
convenient  and  splendid  thoroughfare  between  the  Forum  and 
the  campus  Martius.  Communication  here  between  these  two 
parts  of  the  city  had  hitherto  been  provided  by  a  road  leading 
past  the  Tullianum,  along  the  slope  of  the  Capitoline,  to  the 
porta  Fontinalis,  the  via  di  Marforio.  In  the  middle  ages  this 
road  was  called  the  clivus  Argentarius,3  and  a  basilica  Argentaria 

iLiv.  xxvi.  27;  xl.  51;  Varro,  LL.  v.  145-147;  Fest.  125;  Jordan,  I.  2. 
433-435 ;  Altmann,  Rundbauten,  73-74. 

2  Dio  Cass.  Iv.  8;  GIL.  vi.  1178;  Not.  Reg.  v;  Gilbert,  III.  238. 
8  Gilbert,  III.  228-229. 

274 


THE   IMPERIAL   FORA.  275 

is  mentioned  in  the  Regionary  Catalogue;  but  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  road  itself  dates  from  the  time  of  the  republic, 
and  the  ancient  pavement  has  been  found  only  a  little  beneath 
the  level  of  the  modern  street.  It  is  a  possible  hypothesis 
that  the  arcus  Argentariorum,1  or  arcus  Panis  Aurei  in  Oapitolio, 
mentioned  in  medieval  documents,  stood  on  this  clivus,  and 
that  it  was  the  arch  erected  by  Marcus  Aurelius  in  176  A.D., 
from  which  the  panels  in  the  attic  of  the  arch  of  Constantine 
were  taken  (p.  324). 

We  are  told  that  Caesar  intended  to  extend  the  Forum  as  far  as 
the  atrium  Libertatis.  This  building,2  which  contained  the  offices 
and  archives  of  the  censors,  was  magnificently  re'stered  by 
Asinius  Pollio,  who  established  in  it  the  first  library  in  Rome. 
In  the  sixth  century  the  name,  atrium  Libertatis,  was  applied  by 
Theodoric  to  a  part  of  the  Curia.  It  is  not  entirely  certain  where 
this  building  stood,  whether  within  the  space  afterward  occu- 
pied by  Trajan's  forum,  or  beyond  it  in  the  campus  Martius. 
The  principal  street  in  this  region  was  the  Argiletum  (p.  173), 
a  name  also  given  to  the  district  on  either  side  of  it,  leading 
from  the  Subura  into  the  Forum  between  the  Curia  and  the 
basilica  Aemilia,  and  afterward  incorporated  into  the  forum 
Transitorium  of  Nerva. 

The  first  step  toward  carrying  out  the  general  plan  was  the 
building  of  the  forum  lulium  or  Oaesaris,  which  Caesar  began  in 
54  B.C.,  and  which  was  finished  by  Augustus.3  It  is  said  that 
the  cost  of  the  ground  alone  was  a  hundred  million  sesterces 4 
(about  four  million  dollars),  but  this  has  been  thought  an 
exaggeration.  The  old  Forum  and  the  new  fora  were  essentially 
different.  The  first  was  an  irregular  open  space  which  in  the 
course  of  centuries  had  been  surrounded  with  buildings  of 

1  PBS.  in.  252-253;  OIL.  vi.  1014. 

2  Hermes,  1888,631-633;  BC.  1889,  362-363;  Mitt.  1889,  240-241 ;  Gilbert,  III. 
162-163;   Liv.  xliii.  16;   xlv.  15;  Cic.  ad  Att.  iv.  16;  pro  MU.5Q;  Feat.  241; 
Suet.  Aug.  29 ;  Galba,  20. 

8  Nic.  Damasc.  Ceres.  22 ;  Man.  Anc.  iv.  12. 
4  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  103 ;  Suet.  Goes.  26. 


276  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

various  sorts ;  the  latter  were  regular  areas,  inclosed  by  walls 
and  containing  temples  and  halls,  symmetrically  placed. 

The  forum  lulium1  was  a  rectangular  court,  about  115 
metres  long  and  30  wide,  surrounded  by  a  colonnade  and  wall. 
In  the  centre  of  this  court  stood  the  temple  of  Venus  Gerietrix. 
The  main  axis  of  the  forum  ran  northwest  and  southeast,  in 
the  same  direction  as  that  of  the  Ourialulia,  which  adjoined  it 
at  the  south  corner.  The  temple  of  Venus  Genetrix,2  the  mythi- 
cal ancestress  of  the  Julian  gens,  was  vowed  by  Caesar  on  the 
battlefield  of  Pharsalus,  and  dedicated  September  26,  46  B.C. 
Vitruvius3  describes  the  temple  as  pycnostyle.  It  was  per- 
ipteral, hexastyle  or  octostyle, 4  and  built  of  solid  marble. 
Excavations  in  the  sixteenth  century  brought  to  light  por- 
tions of  the  foundations  of  peperino  and  travertine,  and  frag- 
ments of  columns  and  a  frieze.  All  that  now  remains  of  this 
forum  is  a  part  of  the  peperino  inclosure  wall  on  the  south- 
west side  (via  delle  Marmorelle  29),  12  metres  high  and  3.70 
thick,  and  some  small  vaulted  chambers  or  tabernae,  which 
opened  into  the  corridor  of  the  Forum  through  a  row  of  pep- 
erino arches  with  travertine  imposts.  In  front  of  the  temple 
stood  a  famous  equestrian  statue 5  of  Caesar  himself,  and  a 
fountain  surrounded  by  a  group  of  nymphs,  called  the  Ap- 
piades.6  This  forum  was  not  intended  for  markets  or  trade, 
but  for  legal  business  and  as  a  general  meeting-place.7  It 
was  injured  by  fire  in  283  A.D.  and  restored  by  Diocletian,8 
but  is  not  mentioned  afterward. 

Forum  Augustum.  —  The  forum  Komanum  and  the  forum 
lulium  did  not  afford  sufficient  room  for  the  courts  and  legal 
business  of  the  city,  and  to  provide  for  this  deficiency,  Augus- 

i  Jordan,  I.  2.  436-441 ;  Gilbert,  III.  225-227. 

«  Dio  Cass.  xliii.  22 ;  PI.  NH.  vii.  126 ;  ix.  116 ;  xxxv.  156 ;  xxxvii.  11. 

8  iii.  2. 2.  4So  drawn  on  Palladio's  plan. 

s  Suet.  Caes.  61 ;  Ber.  d.  k.  sdchs.  Gesell.  1891,  99-112. 

6  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  33. 

*  App.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  102.  8  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  148. 


278 


TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 


tus  erected  a  third,1  in  connection  with  the  temple  of  Mars 
Ultor  which  he  had  vowed  at  the  battle  of  Philippi.     This 

forum,  known  as  the  forum 
Augustum,  or  at  a  later 
period  Martis  forum,  in- 
closed the  temple  of  Mars, 
just  as  the  forum  lulium 
inclosed  the  temple  of 
Venus  Genetrix. 

The  forum  Augustum2 
was  rectangular  in  shape, 
about  125  metres  long  and 
90  wide,  and  joined  the 
forum  lulium  on  the  north- 
east, its  longest  axis  being 
perpendicular  to  that  of 
the  latter.  The  regularity 
of  this  rectangle  was 
broken  by  two  large  semi- 
circular apses  or  exedrae 
on  the  southeast  and  north- 
west sides,  and  also  at  the 
northeast  end,  where  the 
irregularity  is  explained 
by  the  fact  that  Augustus, 
who  was  obliged  to  pur- 
chase all  the  site  of  this 
forum  from  private  owners,3 

FIG.  60.-THE  FORUM  OF  AUGUSTUS.        did  not  succeed  in  acquir- 
ing  enough  land  to  carry 
Exactly  in  the  middle  of  the  northeast 


out  his  original  plan. 


*  Suet.  Aug.  29;  Ov.  Fast.  v.  566-598;  Jordan,  I.  2.  442-447;  Gilbert,  III. 
229-231. 

2  Mem.  d.  Lincei,  xiii.  1884,  400-415;  Mitt.  1891,  94-98. 
»  Suet.  Aug.  56;  Mon.  Anc.  iv.21. 


THE   IMPERIAL  FORA.  279 

half  of  the  forum  stood  the  temple  of  Mars,  with  its  end  abut- 
ting against  the  inclosure  wall.  The  building  of  temple  and 
forum  was  so  much  delayed  that  the  formal  dedication  did  not 
take  place  until  August  1,  2  B.C.,1  a  day  which  was  afterward 
celebrated  as  an  annual  festival.  The  forum  was  surrounded 
by  an  enormous  wall,  which  served  the  double  purpose  of  pro- 
tecting it  against  fire  and  shutting  off  the  view  of  the  squalid 
quarters  of  the  city  in  the  immediate  neighborhood.  A  con- 
siderable part  of  this  wall  at  the  northeast  end,  and  also  of  the 
southeast  exedra,  has  been  preserved.  It  was  originally  nearly 
36  metres  high,  and  was  built  of  large  blocks  of  peperino  in 
alternate  courses  of  headers  and  stretchers,  with  wooden  dowels 
but  no  mortar.  On  the  outside,  two  courses  of  travertine  di- 
vided it  into  three  sections.  In  the  part  of  the  wall  now  stand- 
ing is  one  of  the  original  arched  gateways  (arco  dei  Pantani), 
through  which  the  modern  via  Bonella  passes,  6  metres  above 
the  ancient  level.  The  inner  surface  of  the  wall  was  covered 
with  marble  and  stucco.  Whether  a  colonnade  and  porticus 
surrounded  the  south  part  of  the  forum  within  the  wall  is  un- 
certain. 

Each  apse  was  separated  from  the  forum  area  by  a  line  of 
four  pilasters  and  six  fluted  columns  of  cipollino,  9.50  metres 
high,  which  supported  an  entablature  of  white  marble.  In  the 
curved  wall  of  the  apse  were  two  rows  of  rectangular  niches, 
the  lower  about  2.50  metres,  and  the  upper  about  15,  from  the 
pavement.  The  wide  wall-space  (about  8.50  metres)  between 
these  two  rows  of  niches,  which  appears  to  have  been  bare  of 
ornament  other  than  the  lining,  was  probably  masked  by  the 
entablature  already  mentioned.  About  5  metres  above  the 
upper  row  of  niches  ran  a  cornice,  and  above  this  the  wall  rose 
again  for  a  considerable  height.  In  each  apse,  in  the  lower 
row,  were  fourteen  niches,  not  counting  the  large  one  in  the 
middle,  and  four  between  each  apse  and  the  temple,  making 

1  Macrob.  Sat.  ii.  4.  9;  Dio  Cass.  Ix.  5. 


280  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

thirty-six  in  all.  Whether  there  were  more  in  the  other  por- 
tion of  the  wall,  is  not  known. 

In  these  lower  niches  were  placed  the  bronze  statues  of  all 
the  Roman  triumphatores,  from  Aeneas  down.1  The  name  and 
cursus  honorum  of  each  general  were  engraved  on  the  plinth  of 
the  statue,  and  the  res  gestae  on  a  marble  slab  fixed  to  the  wall 
below.  Of  these  inscriptions  a  considerable  number  have  been 
recovered.2  The  upper  niches  probably  contained  trophies. 

The  temple  of  Mars  Ultor,3  one  of  the  most  magnificent  in 
Rome,  was  octostyle,  and  peripteral  except  at  the  northeast 
end,  where  it  joined  the  forum  wall.  Three  of  the  columns 
with  the  architrave  are  still  standing.  They  are  of  white 
marble,  fluted,  15.30  metres  high  and  1.76  in  diameter,  with 
Corinthian  capitals.  It  is  possible  that  they  belong  to  the 
restoration  by  Hadrian,4  and  not  to  the  structure  of  Augustus. 
The  cella  wall  is  of  peperino,  lined  with  Greek  marble.  The 
ceiling  of  the  peristyle,  between  the  cella  wall  and  the  columns, 
is  coffered,  with  rosettes  in  the  centre  of  each  coffer. 

The  forum  Augustum  was  intended  primarily  for  the  Eoman 
courts,5  and  Trajan  himself  sat  in  judgment  here,  although  the 
construction  of  his  great  forum  diminished  the  importance  of 
the  others.  Certain  formalities 6  were  regularly  observed  here, 
i.e.  the  assumption  of  the  toga  virilis  by  all  members  of  the 
imperial  household,  the  formal  leave-taking  of  provincial  gov- 
ernors when  setting  out  for  their  posts,  and  the  granting  of  the 
honor  of  a  triumph  by  the  senate.  The  insignia  of  triumph 
and  the  standards  recovered  from  theParthians 7  were  deposited 
in  the  temple  of  Mars,  and  the  forum  itself  contained  the 
bronze  statues  of  victorious  generals  8  and  many  works  of  art.9 

1  Suet.  Aug.  31 ;  PI.  NH.  xxii.  13;  Dio  Cass.  Iv.  10.  » 

2  BC.  1889,  26-34,  73-79,  481-482;  1890,  251-259;    Mitt.  1889,  247-249;  1891, 
99-101 ;  GIL.  i.2  pp.  186-202. 

8  Mem.  d.  Lincei,  xiii.  1884,  405-411.  4  Spart.  Vit.  Hadr.  19. 

6  Suet.  Claud.  33 ;  Dio  Cass.  Ixviii.  10. 

6  Dio  Cass.  Iv.  10.  8  Tac.  Ann.  iii.  18  ;  iv.  15 ;  xiii.  8. 

<  Mon.  Anc.  v.  42.  9  PI.  NH.  vii.  183;  xxxv.  93. 


THE   IMPERIAL   FORA.  281 

In  19  A.D.  Tiberius  erected  two  triumphal  arches,1  one  on  each 
side  of  the  temple,  in  honor  of  the  victories  of  Drusus  and  Ger- 
manicus  in  Germany.  By  a  decree  of  the  senate  a  quadriga 
was  dedicated  to  Augustus  himself,  as  pater  patriae.2 

Forum  Pacis  or  Vespasiani.  —  In  71  A.D.,  after  the  taking 
of  Jerusalem,  Vespasian  commenced  building  a  temple  of 
Peace,3  which  was  completed  four  years  later.  The  inclosed 
area  in  the  centre  of  which  the  temple  stood  was  finished  by 
Domitian  and  came  to  be  known  as  the  forum  Pacis,4  or  forum 
Vespasiani.5  It  lay  behind  the  basilica  Aemilia  and  southeast 
of  the  forum  Augustum  but  not  directly  adjoining  it,  as  the 
Argiletum,  the  main  thoroughfare  to  the  Subura,  passed  be- 
tween the  two.  The  orientation  of  the  two  fora  was  the  same. 
The  forum  Pacis  was  rectangular  in  shape,  145  metres  in 
length  and  about  85  in  width,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  lofty 
wall  of  peperino  lined  with  marble  and  pierced  by  several 
gates.  At  its  southwesT  corner  this  forum  adjoined  the  tern- 
plum  Sacrae  Urbis,  supposed  to  have  been  built  by  Vespasian, 
on  the  back  wall  of  which  was  the  Marble  Plan  of  the  city. 

The  temple  of  Sacra  Urbs 6  has  already  been  discussed  (p.  2). 
Why  and  when  it  was  called  a  temple  is  not  known,  but  possi- 
bly it  was  the  result  of  the  apotheosis  of  the  city,  which  was 
common  after  the  time  of  Severus.  The  main  hall  of  the 
ancient  building  forms  the  body  of  the  modern  church  of  SS. 
Cosma  e  Damiano.  The  northwest  and  southeast  walls  exhibit 
the  original  construction  of  tufa  of  the  first  century,  while  the 
southwest  and  northeast  walls  are  of  concrete  and  brick  by 
Severus.  In  each  of  the  three  sides,  southeast,  southwest,  and 
northwest,  were  five  large  windows,  and  there  were  originally 


i  Tac.  Ann.  ii.  64.  2  Mon.  Anc.  vi.  26. 

»  Suet.  Vesp.  9;  Dio  Cass.  Ixvi.  15;  cf.  Statins,  Silv.  iv.  3. 17. 
*  Aur.  Viet.  Caes.  9;  Aram.  Marc.  xvi.  10.  14;  Gilbert,  III.  135;  Jordan,  I. 
3.  2-5. 

5  Polem.  Silv.  545.  «  Gilbert,  III.  186-187  ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  4-7. 


282  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

two  entrances,  one  of  which,  on  the  southeast,  is  still  visible. 
Considerable  remains  of  the  marble  pavement  at  the  north  end 
are  "still  in  situ. 

The  temple  of  Peace  contained  the  spoils  brought  from  Jeru- 
salem *  and  numerous  other  works  of  art,2  as  well  as  a  library. 
This  temple,  the  basilica  Aemilia,  and  the  forum  Augustum 
were  regarded  as  exceptionally  beautiful  buildings.3  The 
temple  was  burned  in  191  A.D.*  and  restored  by  Severus. 
Both  forum  and  temple  were  in  existence  in  the  fourth  century. 
In  the  sixth  century  Procopius5  speaks  of  the  works  of  art  in 
the  forum,  but  says  that  the  temple  had  long  since  been  de- 
stroyed by  lightning.  Only  the  faintest  traces  now  remain. 
Some  fragments  of  the  pavement  of  giallo  antico  and  pavonaz- 
zetto  were  found  in  1875,  10  metres  below  the  present  level  of 
the  via  del  Tempio  della  Pace.6 

Forum  Nervae  or  Foruin  Transitorium.  —  To  make  a  proper 
connection  between  the  forum  Pacis  and  the  forum  Augustum, 
Domitian  transformed  part  of  the  intervening  Argiletum 
into  a  magnificent  avenue,  which  had  the  form  of  a  very  nar- 
row forum.7  As  the  work  was  completed  during  the  short 
reign  of  Nerva,8  it  was  ordinarily  known  by  his  name,  but  also 
as  the  forum  Transitorium 9  or  Pervium,10  because  it  was  the 
main  thoroughfare  between  the  Subura  and  the  forum  Eomanum 
and  between  the  other  imperial  fora.  It  also  appears  to  have 
been  called  the  forum  Palladium,11  on  account  of  the  temple  of 
Minerva  within  it.  Its  length  was  about  120  metres  and  its 
width  only  about  40,  the  walls  of  the  fora  already  existing 


i  Jos.  Bell.  lud.  vii.  5.  7 ;  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  84 ;  xxxv.  102,  109. 
2Gell.  v.  21.  9;  xvi.  8.  2. 

8  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  102.  s  Bell.  Goth.  iv.  21. 

4  Dio  Cass.  Ixxii.  24.  6  BC.  1876,  52-53. 

f  Suet.  Dom.  5;  Stat.  Silv.  iv.  3.  9;  Mart.  x.  51.  12;  Jordan,  I.  2.  449-453; 
Gilbert,  III.  232-234. 

s  OIL.  vi.  953.  10  Viet.  Caes.  12. 

»  Lamprid.  Vit.  Alex.  28,  36.  u  Mart.  i.  2.  8. 


THE   IMPERIAL   FORA.  283 

being  extended  so  as  to  form  a  continuous  inclosure.1  A  part 
of  the  wall  at  the  northeast  end  is  still  standing,  and  corre- 
sponds in  height  and  character  with  that  of  the  forum  Augustum, 
which  it  adjoins, 

In  the  centre  of  the  northeast  end  of  the  forum  Nervae 
stood  the  temple  of  Minerva,2  whose  worship  was  especially 
cultivated  by  Domitian.  From  either  side  of  the  temple 
short  walls  stretched  across  to  the  fora  of  Augustus  and 
Vespasian.  The  main  entrance  to  the  forum  was  in  one  of 
these  short  walls  east  of  the  temple,  and  there  was  a  similar 
gate  on  the  west.  The  temple  itself,  as  represented  on  the 
Capitoline  Plan,3  was  hexastyle  prostyle,  as  the  narrowness 
of  the  space  rendered  a  peristyle  impossible.  The  apse  pro- 
jected beyond  the  limits  of  the  forum.  Considerable  remains  of 
the  temple  were  visible  in  the  sixteenth  century,  but  all  have 
disappeared,  except  a  small  part  of  the  cella  next  to  the  forum 
Augustum,  and  fragments  of  the  inscription  on  the  faqade. 
Some  of  the  modern  houses  now  stand  directly  upon  the 
podium  of  the  temple. 

Within  the  inclosure  wall  was  a  colonnade  of  marble  columns, 
two  of  which,  together  with  about  11  metres  of  the  wall  itself, 
are  still  standing  at  the  east  corner  of  the  forum,  in  the  via 
della  Croce  Bianca.  This  ruin,  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
bits  in  Home,  is  called  Le  Colonnacce.  The  wall  is  peperino, 
and  part  of  the  marble  lining  is  still  in  place.  The  columns 
are  10  metres  high  and  0.90  metre  in  diameter,  and  the  inter- 
columniations  5.30  metres  in  width.  As  the  level  of  the  mod- 
ern street  is  much  higher  than  that  of  the  original  pavement 
of  the  forum,  only  the  upper  part  of  the  columns  is  visible. 

Above  the  columns  are  a  cornice  and  a  lofty  attic,  which,  in- 
stead of  following  the  line  of  the  columns,  run  along  the  wall 
itself  in  the  intercolumnar  spaces,  and  project  and  return  round 

*  Mem.  d.  Lincei,  xi.  1883,  22-26;  Melanges,  1889,  346-355;  Mitt.  1891, 101- 
103. 

2  Suet.  Dom.  15;  Dio  Cass.  Ixvii.  1.  8  Jordan,  FUR.  116. 


284  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

the  columns,  thus  breaking  the  entablature  into  sections.  The 
attic,  which  is  4.40  metres  high,  has  a  plinth  and  a  cornice,  and 
in  the  space  between  the  columns  is  a  relief  of  Minerva,  2.65 
metres  high.1  It  is  probable  that  similar  reliefs,  either  of 
Minerva  or  of  some  other  goddess,  stood  in  each  intercolumnar 
space.  The  frieze  is  decorated  with  reliefs  representing  scenes 
of  household  life,  such  as  spinning,  weaving,  and  dyeing,  — 
the  arts  which  were  especially  under  the  protection  of  Minerva. 
Somewhere  in  this  forum  Domitian  erected  a  temple  to  lanus 
Quadrifrons,2  which  was  square  in  shape,  with  doors  in  the  cen- 
tre of  each  side.  During  the  reign  of  Alexander  Severus3 
statues  of  all  the  emperors  who  had  been  deified  were  set  up 
in  this  forum. 

Forum  Traiani.  —  This,  the  last,  largest,  and  most  magnifi- 
cent of  the  imperial  fora,  consisted  of  the  forum  proper,  the 
basilica  Ulpia,  the  column  of  Trajan,  and  the  bibliotheca,  all 
of  which  were  built  by  Trajan  with  the  assistance  of  his 
architect,  Apollodorus  of  Damascus,  and  dedicated,  at  least  in 
part,  about  the  year  113  A.D.4  It  is  possible,  however,  that  this 
work  may  have  been  planned,  or  even  begun,  by  Domitian.5 
The  great  temple  of  Trajan,  which  was  added  by  Hadrian,  did 
not  form  part  of  the  original  plan. 

By  cutting  away  the  opposite  ends  of  the  ridges  of  the 
Quirinal  and  the  Capitoline,  Trajan  successfully  carried  out 
Caesar's  plan  (p.  274)  of  connecting  the  Forum  valley  with 
the  campus  Martius.  The  space  thus  levelled  was  185  metres 
in  width,  and  the  extreme  length  of  forum  and  temple  was 
about  310  metres.  The  inscription 6  on  the  base  of  the  column 

1  Ann.  d.  1st.  1877,  5-36 ;  Mon.  Ined.  x.  pi.  40,  41,  41  a ;  Mitt.  1889,  88,  249. 

2  Serv.  ad  Aen.  vii.  607 ;  Mart.  x.  28.  3;  Mem.  d.  Lincei,  xi.  1883,  26-32. 
8  Lamprid.  Vit.  Alex.  28. 

*  Viet.  Cues.  13;  Dio  Cass.  Ixix.  4;  Jordan,  I.  2.  453-467;  Gilbert,  III.  234- 
237 ;  Richter  e  Grifi,  Ristauro  del  Foro  Traiano,  Rome,  1839. 

5  Strong,  Sculpture,  149;  NS.  1907,  415;  CQ.  1908, 144. 

6  CIL.  vi.  960;  cf.  Dio  Cass.  Ixviii.  16. 


THE   IMPERIAL   FORA.  285 

of  Trajan  states  that  it  was  erected  ad  declarandum  quantae 
altitudinis  mons  et  locus  tantis  operibus  sit  egestus,  and  until 
1906  this  was  usually  interpreted  to  mean  that  the  height  of 
the  column  was  the  same  as  that  of  the  ridge  between  the 
Quirinal  and  the  Capitoline  that  had  to  be  cut  away  to  provide 
room  for  the  forum.  Recent  excavations,1  however,  have 
brought  to  light  the  pavement  of  an  ancient  street  and 
remains  of  houses  of  the  early  empire  beneath  the  corner  of 
the  foundations  of  the  column,  thus  showing  conclusively  that 
no  such  connecting  ridge  existed. 

Of  the  various  attempts  to  explain. the  inscription  that  have 
been  made,  the  least  unsatisfactory  is  that  mons  was  merely 
the  shoulder  of  the  Quirinal,  that  was  cut  back  so  far  that  the 
height  of  the  excavation  was  approximately  100  feet. 

The  ancient  road  just  mentioned  seems  to  have  crossed  the 
forum  area  at  an  angle  of  about  71°  with  its  major  axis.  It 
passes  close  to  the  northwest  corner  of  the  column,  and 
beneath  it  are  the  remains  of  a  sewer  of  republican  date,  and 
north  of  it  are  traces  of  a  wall  of  opus  quadratum. 

While  the  other  imperial  fora  consisted  of  a  temple  with  its 
surrounding  court,  the  forum  of  Trajan  represented  rather  the 
idea  of  the  old  Forum,  consisting  as  it  did  of  a  very  large 
open  area  flanked  on  one  side  by  a  basilica  and  library.  There 
was,  however,  a  eacellum  Libertatis 2  in  the  northeast  hemicycle, 
which  seems  to  indicate  that  this  goddess  was  recognized 
as  the  presiding  divinity  of  the  forum,  a  choice  significant  of 
the  liberal  character  of  the  emperor. 

The  orientation  of  Trajan's  forum  was  the  same  as  that  of 
the  other  imperial  fora,  and  it  was  probably  connected  directly 
with  the  forum  Augustum,  although  the  inclosure  walls  seem 
to  have  been  separated  by  a  short  distance.  In  any  case  there 

1  NS.  1907,  389-410,  414-427;  CQ.  1908,  142-144;  Mtt.1907,  187-197;  Boni, 
Trajan's  Column  (from  Proceedings  of  the  British  Academy,  vol.  iii),  Lon- 
don, 1907;  Binder,  Die  Plebs,  42-51. 

2  Jordan,  FUR.  25. 


286  TOPOGKAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

must  have  been  an  avenue  leading  across  the  intervening  space 
between  the  two. 

The  forum  proper  consisted  of  a  rectangular  area,  116  metres 
wide  and  95  metres  long,1  inclosed  by  a  wall  of  peperino  faced 
with  marble,  except  on  the  two  sides,  where  great  hemicycles, 
45  metres  in  depth,  projected  outward.  Around  three  sides 
was  a  colonnade  of  different  kinds  of  marble,  single  on  the 
southeast  and  double  on  the  northeast  and  southwest.  The 
entrance  to  this  area  was  in  the  middle  of  the  southeast  side, 
where  Trajan  erected  a  magnificent  arch  to  commemorate  his 
victories  in  Dacia.  This  arch  is  represented  on  coins2  with  six 
columns  in  front,  and  above  the  attic  a  six-horse  chariot  driven 
by  the  emperor  himself.  In  the  centre  of  the  area  stood  a 
bronze  equestrian  statue  of  Trajan,  and  in  the  intercolumnar 
spaces  of  the  portico  successive  emperors  erected  statues  of 
many  distinguished  statesmen  and  generals.3 

Of  the  two  hemicycles,4  on  either  side  of  the  forum  proper, 
the  northeastern  is  well  preserved  and  has  been  partially  ex- 
cavated. It  is  built  of  brick  with  travertine  trimmings,  and 
consists  principally  of  two  stories  of  chambers,  which  abut 
directly  against  the  side  of  the  Quirinal  hill.  The  rooms  on 
the  ground  floor,  which  were  doubtless  shops,  open  on  a  road 
paved  with  polygonal  blocks  of  basalt,  which  follows  the  line 
of  the  hemicycle.  They  are  paved  with  black  and  white  mo- 
saic, and  the  walls  are  covered  with  stucco.  Above  the  first 
story  is  a  gallery  with  Tuscan  pilasters,  into  which  the  rooms 
of  the  second  story  open.  Above  this  gallery  there  was  an- 
other story,  the  front  which  was  not  flush  with  the  lower 
faqade,  but  was  pushed  back  on  the  slope  of  the  hill.  The 
semicircular  space  in  front  of  this  hemicycle  was  paved  with 


1  This  is  the  length  according  to  Lanciani's  measurements,  as  he  traces  the 
course  of  the  murus  marmoreits,  or  southeast  wall  of  the  forum,  25  metres 
farther  from  the  forum  Augustum  than  other  topographers  do. 

2  Cohen,  Trajan,  95.  8  Qell.  xiii.  25.  1.  *  NS.  1907,  414-127. 


THE   IMPERIAL   FORA.  287 

white  marble  and  surrounded  with  a  colonnade  decorated  with 
gilt-bronze  trophies. 

The  northwest  side  of  the  forum  proper  was  closed  by  the 
basilica  Ulpia,1  which  was  raised  about  1  metre  above  the  level 
of  the  forum,  and  was  approached  by  three  short  flights  of  steps. 
The  entrances  to  the  basilica,  at  the  tops  of  these  steps,  were 
flanked  by  columns  of  yellow  marble  and  statues  and  sur- 
mounted by  chariots  and  bronze  trophies.  The  steps  them- 
selves were  of  giallo  autico.  The  walls  of  the  basilica  were  of 
concrete  covered  with  marble,  its  roof  of  timber  covered  with 
gilt-bronze  tiles,  and  its  floor  was  paved  with  slabs  of  white 
marble,  some  of  which  are  still  in  situ.  The  basilica  was  rec- 
tangular in  shape,  with  large  apses  at  each  end.  Its  main  axis 
was  perpendicular  to  that  of  the  forum.  The  great  hall  was 
surrounded  with  a  double  row  of  columns,  ninety-six  in  all, 
probably  of  white  or  yellow  marble,  with  Corinthian  capitals. 
These  columns  formed  two  aisles,  5  metres  wide,  and  supported 
a  gallery  on  both  sides  of  the  nave  and  at  the  ends.  The  nave 
itself  was  25  metres  wide. 

Behind  the  basilica  Ulpia  was  a  small  rectangular  court,  24 
metres  wide  by  16  deep,  formed  by  the  basilica  itself,  the  two 
halls  of  the  bibliotheca,  and  the  temple  of  Trajan.  In  the 
centre  of  this  space,  and  forming,  as  it  were,  the  crown  of  the 
whole  forum,  rose  the  columna  divi  Traiani,2  which  still  stands 
in  a  state  of  almost  perfect  preservation.  This  column,  called 
columna  cochlis  from  its  resemblance  to  the  shell  of  a  snail,  or 
centenaria  from  its  being  exactly  100  Koman  feet  in  height,  is 
built  entirely  of  Parian  marble.  The  shaft  and  base,  composed 
of  eighteen  blocks,  3.70  metres  in  diameter,  with  the  addi- 
tipnal  block  which  forms  the  capital,  and  the  plinth  which  is 

1  Jordan,  FUR.  25,  26;  Cohen,  Trajan,  42-44:  Lesueur,  La  Basilica  ulpi- 
enne,  restauration  execute  en  1823,  Paris,  1878. 

.  8Fr6hner,  La  Colonne  Trajane,  Paris,  1874;  Percier,  Restauration  des 
monuments  antiques,  pt.  ii.  1878;  Cichorius,  Die  Reliefs  der  Trajans-Sdule, 
2 parts,  Berlin,  1896 ;  Strong,  Sculpture,  166-213 ;  CR.  1906, 235 ;  PSS.  v.  435-459. 


288 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


cut  in  the  upper  block  of  the  pedestal,  measure  100  Roman 
feet  (29.77  metres)  in  height.  It  is  this  height  of  the  shaft 
which  is  referred  to  in  the  inscription.  The  height  of  the  column 
and  pedestal  together  is  38  metres.  On  the  top  of  the  column 
stood  a  statue  of  Trajan  in  gilt-bronze,  but  Sixtus  V  replaced 
this  in  1588  by  the  present  statue  of  St.  Peter.  The  column 
is  hollow,  and  a  spiral  staircase,  with  one  hundred  and  eighty- 


FIG.  61.  — THE  ( 


five  steps,  leads  to  the  top.  Light  is  furnished  by  forty-three 
narrow  slits  in  the  wall.  The  base,  5.5  metres  square  and  5.04 
metres  high,  is  ornamented  on  three  sides  with  trophies.  The 
southeastern  side  has  a  door,  and  above  it  the  dedicatory  irf- 
scription.  Within  this  base  are  a  vestibule,  a  hallway,  and  a 
rectangular  sepulchral-chamber,  lighted  by  a  window  on  the 
southwest  side,  in  which  the  ashes  of  Trajan,1  in  a  golden  urn, 

i  Eutr.  viii.  5;  Dio  Cass.  Ixix.  2;  Aur.  Viet.  Epit.  13. 


THE   IMPERIAL   FORA.  289 

were  probably  placed.  This  chamber  had  evidently  been 
robbed,  for  a  hole  had  been  cut  through  the  travertine  founda- 
tion. To  secure  the  stability  of  the  structure,  the  chamber 
itself  had  afterward  been  filled  up  with  concrete  probably  at 
some  time  in  the  eighteenth  century.  It  was  not  excavated 
until  1906.1 

The  entire  surface  of  the  shaft  is  covered  with  reliefs, 
arranged  on  a  spiral  band,  which  varies  in  width  from  about 
90  centimetres  at  the  bottom  to  nearly  1.25  metres  at  the  top. 
These  reliefs  represent  the  principal  events  in  the  campaigns 
of  Trajan  in  Dacia  between  101  and  106  A.D.  The  average 
height  of  the  reliefs  is  60  centimetres,  and  they  were  cut  after 
the  column  had  been  erected,  so  that  the  joints  of  the  blocks 
are  almost  wholly  concealed.  These  reliefs  were  also  colored 
most  brilliantly.2  They  form  a  complete  encyclopedia  of  the 
organization  and  equipment  of  the  Roman  army  in  the  second 
century. 

On  either  side  of  the  column  and  abutting  against  the  rear 
wall  of  the  basilica  were  the  two  buildings  of  the  library,3 
called  the  bibliotheca  Ulpia,  or  the  bibliotheca  templi  Traiani.  One 
of  these  buildings  contained  the  Greek  and  the  other  the 
Latin  books,  and  in  both  were  reading  rooms,  on  the  walls  of 
which  were  placed  the  busts  of  celebrated  authors.4  State 
archives,  such  as  the  edicts  of  the  praetors  and  the  libri  lintei, 
or  acts  of  the  emperors,  were  kept  here.5  At  a  later  period, 
and  for  some  unknown  reason,  the  books  were  transferred  to 
the  baths  of  Diocletian.6 

The  forum  Traiani  was  completed  by  Hadrian,  who  erected 
the  temple  of  Trajan  (templum  divi  Traiani)  and  his  wife, 
Plotina,  northwest  of  the  column.7  This  temple  was  octostyle 
peripteral,  and  stood  on  a  raised  platform,  round  which  was  a 

*  NS.  1907,  361-101 ;  CR.  1906,  379.        2  Bull.  d.  1st.  1833,  92;  1836,  39-41. 
8  Vop.  Vit.  Probi,  2 ;   Vit.  Aur.  24 ;  Gell.  xi.  17. 

4  Sid.  Apollin.  ix.  16.         «  Vop.  Vit.  Aur.  1 ;  Vit.  Tac.  8;  Vit.  Numer.  11. 
6  Vop.  Vit.  Probi,  2.  t  Spart.  Vit.  Hadr.  19;  OIL.  vi.  966,  31215. 


290  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

porticus.  Fragments  of  its  granite  columns  2  metres  in  diam- 
eter, of  smaller  marble  columns  1.80  metres  in  diameter,  and 
some  corresponding  capitals  of  the  Corinthian  order  have  been 
found  at  various  times,  as  well  as  remains  of  the  concrete 
substructures.1  The  reliefs,2  found  within  the  area  of  the 
forum,  may  have  belonged  to  this  temple,  but  more  probably  to 
the  encircling  colonnade. 

The  portion  of  this  forum  which  is  now  exposed  to  view 
consists  of  the  column,  the  central  part  of  the  basilica,  and  a 
small  part  of  the  northwest  end  of  the  forum  proper.  The 
broken  columns  of  granite  now  standing  do  not  belong  to  the 
basilica,  but  to  some  other  part  of  the  forum.  The  remaining 
fragments,  comparatively  numerous  as  they  are,  give  little  idea 
of  the  wealth  of  precious  marbles  and  decorative  work  of  every 
conceivable  kind  with  which  this  most  magnificent  group  of 
buildings  was  adorned.  Ammianus  Marcellinus3  gives  a  most 
vivid  picture  of  the  astonishment  of  the  emperor  Constantius 
on  the  occasion  of  his  first  visit  to  this  forum.  It  soon  out- 
stripped all  the  others  in  importance,  as  is  shown  by  the  nu- 
merous statues  of  famous  men  set  up  here  between  the  second 
and  fifth  centuries.4  The  history  of  its  destruction  begins  with 
the  sixth  century,  and  throughout  the  middle  ages  it  furnished 
an  almost  inexhaustible  supply  of  decorative  material  for  the 
churches  and  palaces  of  Rome.5 

1  Bull.  d.  1st.  1869,  237;  NS.  1886,  158  ff. 

2  PBS.  iv.  229-257.  3  xvi.  10.  15. 
4  OIL.  vi.  passim;  Jordan,  I.  2.  465. 

6  Cf.  Cerasoli,  La  Colonna  Traiana  e  le  sue  Adiacenze  nei  secoli  xvi  e  xvii, 
BC.  1901,300-308. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  CAPITOLINE   HILL. 

The  Capitoline l  hill  (mons  Capitolinus)  is  about  460  metres 
in  length  and  has  an  average  breadth  of  about  150,  being  the 
smallest  of  the  hills  of  the  city.  It  was  surrounded  by  steep 
cliffs  on  all  sides  except  the  southeast,  where  it  was  accessible 
from  the  Forum  valley,  and  was  composed  of  three  distinct 
parts,  the  elevations  at  the  north  and  south  ends  and  the  de- 
pression between  them.  The  present  height  of  the  north  sum- 
mit, at  the  church  of  S.  Maria  in  Aracoeli,  is  39  metres  (see 
p.  17)  above  the  mean  level  of  the  Tiber;  that  of  the  south 
summit,  via  di  monte  Tarpeo,  38  metres;  and  that  of  the  piazza 
del  Campidoglio,  30  metres. 

In  the  earliest  period,  the  north  elevation  seems  to  have 
belonged  to  the  Sabine  settlement  on  the  Quirinal,  while  the 
south  portion  of  the  hill  may  have  come  into  the  possession  of 
the  Palatine  Romans.  Each  summit  was  fortified  in  the  usual 
way,  by  escarpments  and  a  breastwork  where  the  cliff  was 
steep,  and  elsewhere  by  tufa  walls.  This  hill  became  a  part  of 
the  city  of  the  Four  Regions  (p.  43),  and  its  inclusion  at  that 
time  marked  the  completed  union  of  the  Palatine  and  Sabine 
elements  in  the  population.  The  earlier  fortifications  on  the 
west  side  of  the  hill  became  a  part  of  the  Servian  wall,  so  that 
each  summit  formed  a  separate  inclosure  within  the  outer  wall. 

1  Jordan,  I.  2.  3-5 ;  Gilbert,  I.  244-247 ;  II.  310-322.    For  the  history  of  the 
hill  see,  E.  Rodocanachi,  Le  Capitole  romain  antique  et  moderne,  Paris,  1904 ; 
and  the  English  translation  by  Frederick  Law  ton,  The  Roman  Capitol  in 
Ancient  and  Modern  Times.    London,  1906. 

2  BC.  1873,  138-146;  1887,  275. 

291 


292  TOPOGRAPHY  OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

The  north  peak  became  the  arx  or  citadel  of  the  new  city, 
and  on  the  south  peak  the  Tarquin  dynasty  established  the  wor- 
ship of  the  triad  of  great  gods,  —  Jupiter,  Juno,  and  Minerva, 
—  thereby  marking  this  point  as  the  j-eligious  centre  of  the 
community.1  To  it  was  given  the  name  of  Oapitolium 2  (from 
capitalis,  capuf),  and  thenceforth  throughout  antiquity  it  con- 
tinued to  represent  to  the  Romans  the  visible  centre  of  the 
state. 

The  settlers  on  the  Quirinal  had  already  a  temple  dedicated 
to  this  triad  of  divinities  and  called  Capitolium,  which,  after 
the  erection  of  the  Tarquinian  temple,  was  known  as  the  Oapi- 
tolium vetus  (p.  487). 

The  double  nature  of  the  Capitoline  is  shown  by  the  preva- 
lence of  the  double  designation,  Arx  et  Capitolium,3  down  to 
the  end  of  the  republic,  although  the  increasing  importance  of 
the  Capitolium  and  the  decreasing  necessity  for  a  citadel  led 
to  the  gradual  application  of  the  word  Capitolium  to  the  entire 
hill.  On  the  other  hand,  the  word  Capitolium4  was  also  em- 
ployed to  designate  simply  the  temple  of  Jupiter  itself,  as  the 
most  significant  part  of  the  whole.  The  adjective  capitolirms 
was  derived  from  the  noun,  and  mons  Capitolinus  became  a  com- 
mon name  for  the  whole  hill.  The  depression  between  the 
two  summits  was  called  inter  duos  lucos,  or  Asylum,5  the  latter 
name  being  explained  by  the  story  that  Romulus  welcomed 
here  the  refugees  from  other  communities. 

The  precipitous  cliff  at  the  southwest  corner  of  the  Capito- 
lium, from  which  criminals  convicted  of  capital  offences  were 
hurled,  was  known  from  the  earliest  times  as  saxum  Tarpeium,6 
and  later  as  rupes  Tarpeia.7  The  statement  that  the  original 
name  of  the  hill  itself  was  mons  Tarpeius  is  false,  and  due  to 

i  Gilbert,  II.  448-456.  2  Varro,  LL.  v.  41;  Liv.  i.  55. 

*  Liv.  v.  39;  Cic.  Catil.  iv.  18.  *  Jordan,  I.  2.  6-7;  Gilbert,  II.  42^432. 

e  Liv.  i.  8;  Jordan,  I.  2.  115-118;  Gilbert,  I.  331;  II.  433-434. 
6  Varro,  v.  41 ;    Sanders,   University  of  Michigan  Studies,  i.  1-17 ;    Pais, 
Legends,  96-127.  7  Tac.  Hist.  in.  71. 


294  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

the  imagination  of  the  Koman  antiquarians.  Of  the  early  for- 
tifications some  remains  still  exist,  especially  several  courses l 
of  tufa  blocks  at  the  top  of  the  Tarpeian  rock,  similar  in  con- 
struction to  the  wall  of  the  Palatine,  and  also  above  the  Career 
just  east  of  the  via  dell'  arco  di  Settimio  Severo.  Of  the  Ser- 
vian wall,  remains2  have  been  found  below  the  palazzo  Caffarelli, 
in  the  via  delle  Tre  Pile,  and  on  the  site  of  the  monument  of 
Victor  Emmanuel.  The  erection  of  the  Tabularium,  at  the  end 
of  the  republic,  and  of  the  medieval  buildings  destroyed  all 
traces  of  earlier  conditions  on  the  ridge  between  the  two 
summits. 

The  principal  approach  to  the  Arx  and  Capitolium  was  by  a 
path  from  the  Forum,  which  led  first  to  the  Asylum,  and  there 
divided.  At  the  end  of  the  regal  period,  the  path  to  the  Asy- 
lum, with  the  branch  to  the  Capitolium,  was  made  into  a  road 
suitable  for  vehicles,  and  this  was  henceforth  known  as  the 
clivus  Oapitolinus.3  It  was  paved  by  the  censors  Q.  Fulvius 
Flaccus  and  A.  Postumius  Albinus,  in  174  B.C.,  and  a  porticus 
was  built  on  the  right  side  of  the  road  from  the  temple  of 
Saturn  to  the  Capitolium.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  this 
porticus  did  not  extend  below  the  Asylum  in  later  times^  In 
190  B.C.  Scipio  erected  a  decorative  arch  4  at  the  top  of  the 
clivus,  and  other  arches  may  have  been  built  over  the  road  as  a 
fornix  Oalpurnius 5  is  mentioned  in  the  fifth  century. 

The  clivus  Capitolinus,  which  is  in  effect  a  continuation  of 
the  Sacra  via,  begins  near  the  arch  of  Tiberius,  at  the  corner 
of  the  basilica  lulia,  skirts  the  west  side  of  the  temple  of 
Saturn,  and  making  a  sharp  turn  at  the  corner  of  the  porticus 
Deorum  Consentium,  ascends  to  the  Asylum.  Part  of  the  back 


i  Ann.  d.  1st.  1871,  49-51. 

*Bull.  d.  1st.  1882,  227-230;  BC.  1887,  275;  1892,  145-146;  NS.  1889,  361; 
1890,  215;  1892,200;  Mitt.  1889,  254-255;  1891,  104;  1893,  287. 

s  Liv.  xli.  27;  PI.  NH.  xix.  23;  Tac.  Hist.  iii.  71;  Jordan,  I.  2.  62,  78,  120- 
121;  Gilbert,  I.  313-315;  II.  311-317,  445-448;  Hermes,  1883,  104-128,  616-619; 
1884,  322-324.  *  Liv.  xxxvii.  3.  6  Oros.  v.  9. 


THE   CAPITOLINE   HILL.  295 

wall  of  the  porticus  serves  as  a  foundation  for  the  clivus,  but 
its  upper  course  has  been  changed  by  more  recent  structures. 
Portions  of  the  lava  pavement  of  the  clivus  still  exist  at  vari- 
ous points  near  the  bottom  of  the  ascent,  especially  in  front  of 
the  temple  of  Saturn,  where  one  of  the  best  specimens  of  re-/ 
publican  paving  in  Rome  may  be  seen.  No  trace  remains  of 
the  upper  part  of  the  clivus  or  of  the  branch  which  led  to  the 
Arx,  which  was  at  first  the  more  important  of  the  two.  Both 
paths  probably  ascended  the  slope  in  windings.  It  is  uncer- 
tain whether  the  clivus  entered  l  the  area  Capitoliua  on  the 
northeast  or  the  southeast  side,  but  probably  on  the  latter, 
directly  opposite  the  facade  of  the  temple. 

Somewhere  on  the  clivus,  probably  not  far  from  the  temple 
of  Saturn,  a  passage  led  out  through  a  gate,  the  porta  Sterco- 
raria.2  This  gate  was  opened  only  once  a  year,  in  order  that 
the  rubbish,  stercus,  from  the  temple  of  Vesta  might  be  thrown 
out. 

Besides  the  clivus,  two  flights  of  steps  led  to  the  top  of  the  J 
hill.  One,  the  Centum  gradus,3  led  to  the  Capitolium  at  its 
south  corner  near  the  Tarpeian  rock ;  the  other  *  ascended  to 
the  Asylum  and  Arx,  between  the  temple  of  Concord  and  the 
Career,  and  may  possibly  be  identified  with  the  gradus  Monetae 
mentioned  by  Ovid.*  The  scalae  Gemoniae,5  on  which  the  bodies 
of  executed  criminals  were  thrown,  either  branched  off  from 
the  gradus  Monetae  or  was  another  name  for  them. 

The  Arx.  —  Of  the  exact  topography  of  the  northern  part  of 
the  Capitoline  hill  almost  nothing  is  known,7  as  the  building 
of  the  medieval  church  and  cloisters  of  S.  Maria  in  Aracoeli 8 

1  Hiilsen,  Zur  Topographic  des  Kapitols,  Festschrift  fur  H.  Kiepert,  Berlin, 
1898,  220-222;  Richter,  Capitolium  und  Clivux  Capitolinus,  Berlin,  1903. 

2  Fest.  344 ;  Gilbert,  II.  316.  »  Tac.  Hist.  iii.  71. 

*  Dio  Cass.  Iviii.  5 ;  Hermes,  1883,  125-126.  «  Fasti,  i.  637. 
•Gilbert,  I.  327;  III.  164;  Jordan,  I.  2.  324-325,  and  classical  literature 

there  cited. 

*  Gilbert,  I.  267-270,  320-328.  8  Jordan,  I.  2.  112-113. 


296  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

changed  previous  conditions  completely.  The  excavations  of 
recent  years  have  brought  to  light  on  the  southeast  slope  of 
the  hill  remains  of  early  tufa  walls,  over  some  of  which  is 
concrete  of  the  imperial  period.  These  remains  admit  of  no 
identification,  but  seem  to  belong  to  at  least  two  different 
structures.  It  is  plain,  however,  that  the  slope  of  the  hill  was 
protected  by  a  retaining  wall,  and  the  top  was  probably  arti- 
ficially levelled. 

There  was  no  permanent  garrison  in  the  citadel ;  but  in  the 
early  days  sentinels  were  posted  here  while  the  comitia  were 
being  held  in  the  campus  Martius,  to  watch  for  the  signal, 
displayed  on  the  Janiculum,  of  an  approaching  enemy.1  An- 
other signal,  vexillum  russi  coloris,2  was  at  the  same  time  raised 
on  the  Arx. 

Somewhere  on  the  east  part  of  the  Arx  was  the  Auguracnlum,3 
or  open  grassy  spot  where  the  omens  were  observed,  which 
played  an  important  part  in  some  of  the  oldest  ritual  of  the 
state.  On  the  Arx  was  the  house  of  M.  Manlius  Capitolinus, 
destroyed  in  384  B.C.  by  order  of  the  senate,  on  the  site  of 
which,  forty  years  later,  Camillus  erected  the  famous  temple 
of  luno  Moneta.4  The  origin  of  the  epithet  Moneta  is  un- 
known, but  it  was  explained  by  the  Roman  antiquarians  as 
being  derived  from  the  warning  voice  of  the  goddess  which 
was  heard  in  the  temple  on  the  occasion  of  an  earthquake  ut 
sue  plena  procuratio  Jieret.5  When  the  coinage  of  silver  money 
was  begun  in  Rome  in  269  B.C.,  the  mint  was  established  in 
this  temple  as  an  eminently  safe  place,  and  designated  thence- 
forth as  ad  Monetam  or  Moneta.  The  mint  appears  to  have 
been  removed  at  the  end  of  the  first  century,  and  nothing 


iDioCass.  xxxvii.  28. 

2  Maorob.  Sat.  i.  16.  15;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  viii.  1 ;  Fest.  Epit.  103. 

8  Fest.  Epit.  18;  Varro,  LL.  vii.  8;  Cic.  de  Off.  iii.  66;  Vitr.  ii.  1.  6;  Jordan, 
I.  2.  104-106;  Gilbert,  II.  453-455;  III.  401;  BC.  1910,  132-140. 

4  Liv.  vi.  20 ;  vii.  28 ;  Ov.  Fast.  i.  638 ;  vi.  183-186 ;  Solin.  i.  21 ;  Jordan,  I.  2. 
108-111 ;  Gilbert,  I.  333-334.  6  Cic.  de  Div.  i.  101. 


THE   CAPITOLINE   HILL.  297 

further  is  known  about  the  temple.  L.  Manlius  vowed  a 
temple  to  Concord  *  on  the  Arx  in  221  B.C.,  which  was  completed 
and  dedicated  in  217,  and  the  temple  of  Honor  et  Virtus,2  erected 
by  Marius,  may  perhaps  have  stood  on  the  east  slope  of  the 
citadel,  although  the  location  of  this  temple  is  wholly  uncertain. 
There  appears  to  have  been  a  shrine  of  Veiovis3  on  the  Arx,  be- 
sides that  erected  inter  duos  lucos  (p.  305),  but  whether  or  not 
this  was  the  temple'built  by  L.  Furius  Purpureo 4  in  192  B.C.  we 
do  not  know. 

At  the  foot  of  the  northern  slope  of  the  Arx  traces  have 
been  found  of  shrines  cut  in  the  rock,  and  inscriptions  relating 
to  foreign  deities  of  a  later  period,  like  Sebazis  and  Dea  Oaelestis,5 
Hecate,6  and  Mithras.7 

Capitolium.  —  The  chief  place  on  the  south  summit  of  the 
hill  was  occupied-  by  the  most  famous  of  all  Roman  temples, 
the  aedes  lovis  Optimi  Maximi  or  Capitolini,8  dedicated  to 
Jupiter  and  his  companion  deities,  Juno  and  Minerva.  It 
stood  in  the  centre  of  the  area  Capitolina,  a  space  formed  by 
building  retaining  walls  and  substructures  round  the  edge  of  the 
hill  and  leveling  off  the  surface  inclosed.9  This  temple  dated 
from  the  end  of  the  regal  period,  its  foundation  being  ascribed 
by  tradition 10  to  Tarquinius  Priscus  and  its  dedication  u  to  the 
first  year  of  the  republic.  From  the  first  it  was  regarded  as  the 

i  Liv.  xxii.  33;  xxiii.  21 ;  CIL.  i2.  p.  309. 

2Cic.  pro  Sest.  116;  Vitr.  iii.  2.  5 ;  vii.  praef.  17;  Val.  Max.  i.  7.5;  Fest. 
344;  Jordan,  I.  2.  44;  Gilbert,  III.  99. 

»  PI.  NH.  xvi.  215.  *  Liv.  xxxv.  41. 

6  NS.  1892,  43,  407 ;  Mitt.  1893,  288.         «  IGI.  1017.         J  CIL.  vi.  719. 

8  Ann.  d.  1st.  1876,  145-172;  Mon.  Ined.  x.  pi.  xxx  a;  BC.  1875,  165-189; 
Mitt.  1888,  150-155;  1889,  249-252;    Melanges,  1889,  120-133;   Hermes,  1884, 
322-324;  Richter,  Top.2  121-126;  Capitolium  und  Clivus  Capitolinus,  Berlin, 
1903;  Jordan,  I.  2.  8-101;  Gilbert,  II.  416-423,  434-448 ;  III.  382-398;  Rodoca- 
naclii,  Le  Capitole,  27-40. 

9  Liv.  vi.  4;  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  104. 

w  Cic.  de  Rep.  ii.  36;  Liv.  i.  38;  Tac.  Hist.  iii.  72;  Dionys.iii.  69;  iv.  59. 
"  Liv.  ii.  8. 


298  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

symbol  of  the  existence  and  greatness  of  Rome.  Hence  Capito- 
lium  and  aedes  lovis  Optimi  Maximi  became  practically  synony- 
mous terms. 

The  site  of  the  temple  is  now  occupied  by  the  palazzo  Caffa- 
relli,  which  was  built  in  the  sixteenth  century.  The  excava- 
tions that  have  been  carried  on  since  that  time,  supplemented 
by  the  description  of  the  temple  by  Vitruvius l  and  Dionysius,2 
enable  us  to  form  a  reasonably  definite  idea  of  its  size  and 
appearance,  especially  as  we  are  distinctly  told  that  the  origi- 
nal foundations  were  preserved  through  all  the  rebuildings. 

The  present  palazzo,  while  standing  on  the  foundations  of 
the  temple,  does  not  coincide  exactly  with  them.  The  temple 
was  rectangular,  almost  square,  and  its  main  axis  deviated  24° 
to  the  east  of  the  north-south  line,  the  front  being  toward  the 
south.  So  far  as  can  be  learned  from  the  excavations,  the 
stylobate  was  not  a  solid  mass,  but  consisted  of  a  series  of 
parallel  walls,  5.60  metres  wide,  of  tufa  blocks  laid  without 
mortar  and  set  deep  in  the  ground.  The  height  of  the  stylo- 
bate  was  apparently  from  4  to  5  metres.  From  a  comparison 
of  present  measurements  with  the  figures  given  by  Dionysius, 
it  is  almost  certain  that  the  temple  was  built  by  the  standard 
of  the  early  Italic  foot3  (0.278  metre),  instead  of  the  later 
Roman  foot  (0.2977  metre).  The  plan  of  the  temple  is  given 
in  Fig.  62.  The  cella  was  divided  into  three  chambers,  the 
proportion  in  width  between  the  central  chamber  and  the  two 
on  its  sides  being  as  four  to  three.  The  length  of  the  shorter 
sides  of  the  stylobate,  derived  from  actual  measurements,  ex- 
clusive of  its  outer  lining,  of  which  nothing  is  known,  was 
52.50  metres,  or  188.85  Italic  feet,  and  that  of  the  longer  sides 
.probably  204  feet,  about  60  metres.  The  temple  was  hexa- 
style,  with  three  rows  of  columns  across  the  front  and  a  row 
on  each  side.  The  intercolumniations  corresponded  with  the 

1  iii.  2.  5.  2  jv.  61. 

8  Hermes,  1887,  17-28;    1888,  477-479;    Richter,    Top.2  122-123;    CR.  1902, 
335-336;  NS.  1907,362. 


THE   CAPITOLINE    HILL.  299 

different  widths  of  the  central  and  side  chambers  of  the  cella. 
This  was  probably  also  true  of  the  intercolumnar  spaces  on 
the  sides.  As  the  bases  of  the  columns  were  about  8  feet 
(2.23  metres)  in  breadth,  the  wider  intercolurnniations  measured 
40  feet  (11.12  metres)  and  the  narrower  30  feet  (8.9  metres). 
According  to  this  plan  the  cella  was  exactly  100  feet  (27.81 
metres)  square.  On  this  foundation1  four  successive  edifices 
were  erected. 

"-  1.  The  temple  of  Tarqnin.  According  to  the  common  tradition, 
there  were  shrines  dedicated  to  other  divinities  on  the  site 
intended  for  this  temple,  all  of  whom  allowed  themselves  to  be 
dispossessed  in  the  proper  way  except  Terminus,  the  god  of 
boundaries.2  His  shrine  was  therefore  incorporated  in  the  new 
temple,  and  this  fact  was  regarded  as  a  prophecy  of  the  per- 
manence of  the  cult  and  of  Rome  itself.  According  to  the 
present  view,  however,  Terminus  was  not  a  separate  deity,  but 
only  an  epithet  of  Jupiter.  The  original  temple  was  probably 
built  of  the  native  tufa  of  the  hill,  quarried  near  by.  As 
stated  above,  it  was  hexastyle,  with  three  rows  of  columns 
across  the  front  and  one  on  the  sides.  The  central  chamber  of 
the  cella  contained  an  Etruscan  statue  of  Jupiter  of  terra 
cotta,3  the  face  of  which  was  painted  red.  The  statue  was 
clothed  with  a  tunic  adorned  with  palm  branches  and  Victories 
and  a  toga  of  purple  embroidered  with  gold,  the  costume  after- 
wards worn  by  Roman  generals  when  celebrating  a  triumph. 
The  chamber  on  the  right 4  was  dedicated  to  Minerva,  and  that 
on  the  left  to  Juno.  Each  contained  a  terra  cotta  statue  of  the 
divinity.  In  the  cella  of  Jupiter,  or  possibly  in  the  pronaos, 
was  a  terminal  cippus  representing  the  god  as  Terminus,  and 
in  the  cella  of  Minerva  there  was  a  small  shrine  of  luventas,  a 
deity,  who,  according  to  Dionysius,  also  declined  to  be  moved 
from  her  original  site.  The  entablature  was  of  wood  and  bore 

1  Delbriick,  Der  Apollotempel  auf  dem  Marsfeldin  Rom,  Rome,  1903, 12-13. 

2  Liv.  i.  55 ;  Fest.  162 ;  Dionys.  iii.  69.  »  PI.  NH.  xxxv.  157. 
*  Lav.  vii.  3. 


300  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

painted  terra  cotta  statues  —  on  the  apex  Jupiter  in  a  qua- 
driga.1 This  terra  cotta  quadriga  was  replaced  in  296  B.C.  by 
one  of  bronze.  The  pediment  was  filled  with  terra  cotta 
reliefs.  In  179  B.C.  the  walls  and  columns  were  covered  anew 
with  stucco ; 2  in  142  the  ceiling  was  gilded,  and  a  mosaic  pave- 
ment had  been  laid  in  the  cella  a  few  years  earlier.3  This 
temple  became  a  repository  for  works  of  art  of  all  descriptions, 
the  gifts  of  Roman  generals  and  foreigners,  as  well  as  for 
dedicatory  offerings  and  trophies  of  victory.  Their  number 
became  so  great  that  in  179  B.C.  it  was  necessary  to  remove 
some  of  the  statues  and  many  of  the  shields  affixed  to  the 
columns.4 

2.  The  temple  of  Sulla  and  Oatulus.  In  83  B.C.  the  first  temple 
was  burned  to  the  ground.5  Its  rebuilding  was  begun  by  Sulla, 
and  finished  by  Q.  Lutatius  Catulus,  by  whom  it  was  dedicated 
in  69.6  Sulla  is  said  to  have  brought  the  white  marble  Corin- 
thian columns  of  the  Olympieion  in  Athens  to  Rome  for  this 
temple,7  but  a  denarius 8  of  43  B.C.  represents  the  columns  as 
still  Doric.  The  only  difference  between  the  first  and  second 
temples  was  in  the  greater  magnificence  of  the  latter  and  the 
greater  height  of  the  columns.9  The  kind  of  stone  employed 
in  this  rebuilding  is  not  known.  The  roof  was  covered  with 
gilt  bronze.  In  the  centre  of  the  pediment  was  a  relief  of 
Roma  with  the  wolf  and  twins,  and  on  the  apex  was  a  statue  of 
Jupiter  standing  in  a  quadriga.  The  ancient  terra  cotta  statue 
of  Jupiter  in  the  cella  seems  10  to  have  been  replaced  by  one  of 
gold  and  ivory,  made  probably  by  some  Greek  artist,  perhaps 
Apollonius,  in  imitation  of  that  of  Zeus  at  Olympia.  Augustus 

1  PI.  NH.  loc.  tit.;  xxviii.  16.  "  Cic.  Cat.  iii.  9;  Tac.  Hist.  iii.  72. 

2  Liv.  xl.  51.  6  Cic.  Verr.  iv.  69. 

»  PI.  NH.  xxxiii.  57;  xxxvi.  185.  ?  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  45. 

4  Liv.  xl.  51. 

8  Cohen,  Mtd.  Cons.  pi.  xxx ;  Pet.  1.  2.    For  a  list  of  coins  representing  this 
temple  at  different  periods,  see  Arch.  Zeit.  1872,  1-8;  Jordan,  I.  2.  88-90. 

9  Dionys.  iv.  61 ;  Val.  Max.  iv.  4. 11. 

10  Bruun,  Kiinstlergeschichte,  i.  543. 


THE   CAPITOLINE   HILL.  301 

restored l  this  temple  at  great  expense,  but  we  have  no  infor- 
mation as  to  what  changes  were  made  at  that  time. 

3.  The  temple  of  Vespasian.     In  69  A.D.  the  second  temple  was 
burned,   when   the    Capitol   was   stormed  by  the  Vitellians.2 
Vespasian  rebuilt  it  as  it  was  before,  except  that  the  height 
was  again  increased.     Coins 3  of  the  period  represent  it  as  hexa- 
style,  with  Corinthian  columns  and  a  pediment  surmounted  by 
a  quadriga,  two  chariots,  two  eagles,  and  the  statues  of  Jupiter, 
Juno,  and  Minerva. 

4.  The  temple  of  Domitian.     Again,  in  80  A.D.,  the  temple  was 
burned,  and  rebuilt  by  Domitian  on  the  lines  of  the  earlier 
edifices,  which  it  surpassed,  however,  in  magnificence.4    The 
columns 5  of  the  portico  were  of  the  Corinthian  order,  and  of 
white  marble  brought  from  Athens.     The  doors  of  the  cella 
were  covered  with  plates  of  gold,  and  the  roof  with  gilt  tiles. 
The   pediment  was  adorned  with  reliefs,  and   its  apex  and 
gables  with  statues,  as  in  the  earlier  temples.     This  temple 
lasted  as  long  as  the  empire,  and  represented  its  spirit,  as  the 
first  temple  had  represented  that  of  the  republic.     Its  destruc- 
tion began  in  the  fifth  century,  when  Stilicho  carried  off  the 
gold  plates  of  the  doors,6  and  from  that  time  on  it  suffered 
from  continual  acts  of  vandalism,  until  the  Caffarelli  built  their 
palace  upon  its  foundations.     Of  the  upper  structure  of  this 
wonderful  temple  scarcely  anything  is  left,  except  one  drum 
of  a  fluted  white  marble  column,  2.10  metres  in  diameter,  and 
some  fragments  of  the  cornice  and  frieze,  sculptured  with  reliefs. 

Area   Capitolina.  —  The  open  space  before  and  round  the 
temple  of  Jupiter  was  called  the  area  Capitolina.7     It  was  sur- 

i  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  9.  2  Tac.  Hist.  iii.  71 ;  iv.  53. 

8  Cohen,  Vesp.  409 ;   Tit.  270,  271.  4  Dio  Cass.  Ixvi.  24 ;  Suet.  Dom.  8. 

6  Mon.  d.  1st.  v.  36 ;  Cohen,  Dom.  1,  69,  71. 

6  Zos.  v.  38.    For  further  references  in  classical  literature,  see  Kiepert  and 
Hiilsen,  Nomenclator,  p.  82. 

7  Liv.  xxv.  3 ;  Tac.  Hist.  iii.  71 ;  Jordan,  I.  2.  37-40 ;  Gilbert,  II.  423-425 ;  III. 
388,  399;  Hermes,  1883,  115-118. 


302  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

rounded  with  a  wall,  and  the  principal  entrance  was  probably 
on  the  south  side,  opposite  the  fagade  of  the  temple.  The 
porta  Pandana,1  which  according  to  tradition  was  always  open, 
may  have  been  at  the  top  of  the  Centum  gradus,  and  have 
opened  out  on  to  the  Tarpeian  rock.  This  area  was  the  meeting 
place  of  the  comitia  calata  and  occasionally  of  the  comitia 
tributa,  while  the  cella  of  the  temple  itself  served  on  certain 
occasions  for  the  assembly  of  the  senate.  Beneath  the  surface 
of  the  area  were  subterranean  passages,  called /a w'ssae,2  which 
were  entered  from  the  cella  of  the  temple.  In  these  favissae 
were  stored  the  old  statues  which  had  fallen  from  the  temple, 
and  various  dedicatory  gifts.  The  Sijbyjline  books  were  kept 
in  the  cella  of  the  temple  itself. 

In  the  area  was  the  aedes  Thensarum,3  where  the  carriages  of 
the  gods  were  kept;  the  curia  Oalabra,4  where  the  pontifex 
minor  proclaimed  the  calendar  for  each  month ;  and  the  casa 
Eomuli,5  which  was  probably  a  replica  of  that  on  the  Palatine 
(p.  130).  Other  temples  were  here,  among  them  that  of  Tides,6 
which  was  traditionally  assigned  to  Numa  and  was  next  in 
size  to  the  great  temple ;  that  of  luppiter  Feretrius,7  which  was 
said  to  have  been  founded  by  Romulus  to  commemorate  the 
first  winning  of  the  spolia  opima,  and  was  restored  by  Augustus ; 
and  of  luppiter  Gustos,8  built  by  Domitian  in  recognition  of  his 
concealment  in  the  house  of  a  porter  in  the  area  Capitolina, 
when  the  Capitol  was  stormed  by  the  Vitellians.  He  had  first 
built  a  sacellum  lovis  Conservatoris. 


1  Varro,  LL.  v.  42;  Solin.  i.  13;  Fest.  220;  Dionys.  x.  14. 

2  Gell.  ii.  10;  Fest.  88;  Gilbert,  II.  419. 

3  OIL.  iii.  p.  845,  22;  Suppl.  p.  1963,  29. 

<  Varro,  LL.  vi.  27;  Macrob.  Sat.  i.  15.  9;  Fest.  49;  Gilbert,  II.  451-452. 

5  Vitr.  ii.  1.  5;  Seneca,  Controv.  ii.  1.  4. 

«Liv.  i.  21;  Dionys.  ii.  75;  Cic.  de  Off.  iii.  104;  de  Nat.  Deor.  ii.  61;  GIL. 
iii.  Suppl.  p.  2034. 

"Liv.  i.  10;  iv.  20;  Dionys.  ii.  34 ;  Nepos,  Att.  20;  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  5;  Fest. 
92. 

s  Tac.  Hist.  iii.  74 ;  Suet.  Dora.  5. 


THE   CAPITOLINE   HILL.  303 

The  exact  extent  of  the  area  Capitolina  is  not  known,  but 
its  east  wall  appears  to  have  been  about  30  metres  from  the 
great  temple,  and  the  south  wall  about  40  metres.  It  is  prob- 
able that  certain  other  temples,  which  stood  on  the  Capitolium, 
were  within  its  limits.1  These  were  the  temple  of  Mens  and 
that  of  Venus  Erycina,2  which  were  vowed  after  the  disastrous 
battle  of  the  Trasimene  lake  in  217  B.C  ;  the  temple  of  Ops  in 
Capitolio,3  first  mentioned  in  186  B.C.,  restored  between  123  and 
114  B.C.  by  L.  Metellus,  and  famous  as  the  place  where  Caesar 
stored  his  vast  wealth ;  the  temples  of  Mars  Ultor  and  luppiter 
Tonans,  which  were  built  by  Augustus,  the  first,4  a  circular  domed 
structure,  in  20  B.C.,  to  receive  the  standards  recovered  from  the 
Parthians,  which  were  afterwards  transferred  to  the  forum 
Augustum  ;  and  the  latter 5  between  26  and  22  B.C.,  in  com- 
memoration of  the  emperor's  narrow  escape  from  being  struck 
by  lightning  while  engaged  in  a  campaign  against  the  Canta- 
brians.  This  temple  was  famous  for  its  magnificence  and  for 
the  statues  which  it  contained.  As  it  stood  in  front  of  the 
great  temple,  luppiter  Tonans  was  called  the  ianitor  of  luppiter 
Capitolinus. 

Besides  these  temples,  the  area  contained  several  altars. 
The  most  famous  was  the  great  ara  lovis6  in  the  centre,  where 
solemn  sacrifices  were  offered  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  at  the 
celebration  of  triumphs,  and  on  some  other  occasions,  and  there 
were  others  of  luppiter  Tutor 7  built  by  Claudius,  the  Gens  lulia,8 


1  Hiilsen,  Zur  Topographic  des  Kapitols,  209-220;  Mitt.  1892,  290-291. 

2  Liv.  xxii.  10 ;  xxiii.  30,  31 ;  Cic.  de  Nat.  Deor.  ii.  61 ;  Snet.  Cal.  1. 

*  Liv.  xxxix.  22;  PI.  NH.  xi.  174;  OIL.  vi.  p.  507;  Cic.  Phil  ii.  93;  EE.  iii. 
64-73;  OIL.  P.  p.  327;  Gilbert,  I.  248;  III.  399. 

*  Dio  Cass.  liv.  8;  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  5;  Cohen,  Aug.  189-205;  Altmann,  Rund- 
bauten,  50. 

s  Mon.  Anc.  iv.5;  Suet.  Aug.  29.91 ;  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  78,  79;  xxxvi.  50;  Dio 
Cass.  liv.  4;  Jordan,  I.  2.  47-49;  Gilbert,  III.  399. 
•Jordan,  I.  2.  38-39. 

7  Serv.  ad  Aen.  viii.  652. 

8  OIL.  iii.  pp.  847-851,  1958-1959. 


304  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

Isis  and  Serapis,  Bellona,1  and  Nemesis.2  There  were  also 
many  statues  of  divinities, —  Hercules,  Liber,3  and  others,4  — 
especially  one  of  Jupiter,5  which  was  struck  by  lightning  in 
65  B.C.  and  replaced  by  another  standing  on  the  top  of  a  high 
column.  Equally  numerous  were  the  statues  of  famous  men,6 
among  which  the  most  conspicuous  must  have  been  those  of 
the  seven  kings  of  Rome.7 

So  numerous  were  the  shrines  and  statues  of  the  gods,  that 
it  was  said  without  exaggeration  in  Capitolio  .  .  .  deorum 
omnium  simulacra  colebantur.*  In  addition  to  those  already 
mentioned,  we  know  of  shrines  of  Fortuna  Primigenia,9  ascribed  to 
Servius  Tullius ;  Indulgentia,10  built  by  Marcus  Aurelius ;  the 
triad  Genius  Populi  Eomani,  Felicitas,  and  Venus  Victrix;11  Felici- 
tas  12  alone ;  luppiter  Victor  "  and  perhaps  Valetudo.14  Trophies  of 
victory,  like  those  of  Marius  u  and  the  tropaea  Germanici,  and 
votive  monuments16  were  also  thickly  strewn  about,  and  a 
wholesale  removal  of  these  objects  was  ordered  in  the  year  179 
B.C.  and  again  in  the  time  of  Augustus.17  Countless  bronze 
tablets  containing  treaties  and  laws  and  military  diplomas  were 
preserved  on  the  Capitol,  being  ordinarily  fastened  to  the  walls 
of  the  temples  and  to  the  bases  of  statues  and  monuments.18  We 
are  told  that  three  thousand  such  tablets  were  melted  in  the 
fire  of  69  A.D.W 


1  Tertull.  ad  Nat.-i.  10;  Apol.  6;  Dio  Cass.  xlii.  26. 

2  PI.  NH.  xi.  251 ;  xxviii.  22.  «  Liv.  ix.  44;  GIL.  iii.  p.  849. 

4  Gilbert,  III.  102,  387-388. 

5  Dio  Cass.  xxxvii.  9 ;  Cic.  Cat.  iii.  20. 

6  Gilbert,  III.  386;  Rodocanachi,  Le  Capitole,  46. 

t  PI.  NH.  xxxiii.  9-10;  xxxiv.  22-23;   Gilbert,  I.  24-25;  Jordan,  I.  2.  56-58. 

8  Serv.  ad  Aen.  ii.  319. 

9  Plut.  de  Fort.  Rom.  x;  OIL.  xiv.  2852. 

10  Dio  Cass.  Ixxi.  34;  Wissowa,  Religion  d.  Romer,  279. 

11  OIL.  i.2  p.  331.  12  OIL.  i.2  p.  248.  ™  Dio  Cass.  xlvii.  40. 
14  Petron.  88  (cf.  however,  Wissowa,  op.  cit.  255). 

18  Plut.  Caes.  6 ;  Suet.  Caes.  11 ;  Jordan,  I.  2. 44-45 ;  Melanges,  1908,  354-361. 
is  Gilbert,  III.  384-387  ;  Mitt.  1889,  252-253.  u  Suet.  Cal.  34. 

is  Cf.  BC.  1896,  187-190;  Jordan,  I.  2.  52-56.  "  Suet.  Vesp.  8. 


THE   CAPITOLINE   HILL.         .  305 

Of  the  masonry  of  the  area  itself,  a  part  of  the  east  wall 
was  found  in  1875.  Of  the  numerous  structures  within  it, 
only  the  most  meagre  remains  have  been  discovered,  the  most 
noticeable  of  which  was  a  mass  of  concrete  south  of  the  great 
temple.1  This  mass,  so  far  as  it  was  excavated,  measured  14.80 
metres  on  the  east  and  16  metres  on  the  north  side.  It  dated 
from  the  republican  period,  but  had  itself  been  built  over 
earlier  structures.  It  was  probably  the  foundation  of  some 
one  of  the  temples,  but  no  identification  was  possible. 

The  Asylum  or  Inter  Duos  Lucos. —  The  level  of  the  depres- 
sion between  the  two  summits  of  the  Capitoline  hill  has 
remained  practically  unchanged,  as  was  shown  when  the  foun- 
dations were  laid  for  the  equestrian  statue  of  Marcus  Aurelius, 
which  now  stands  in  the  centre  of  the  piazza  del  Campidoglio. 
The  whole  area  was  called  inter  duos  lucos,2  the  duo  luci  being 
the  groves  that  originally  stood  on  the  two  summits  of  the  hill. 
The  Asylum  was  represented  at  the  beginning  of  the  empire  by 
an  inclosed  space,3  within  which  was  probably  a  small  grove, 
or  perhaps  a  shrine.4 

The  importance  of  this  part  of  the  hill  arose  from  the  fact 
that  it  formed  the  thoroughfare  between  the  two  summits  and 
the  city.  So  far  as  known,  only  one  temple  stood  here,  that 
of  Veiovis  inter  duos  lucos,5  which  is  said  to  have  been  of  peculiar 
shape  and  to  have  contained  a  statue  of  a  youthful  Jupiter, 
holding  arrows  in  his  hand.  This  —  probably  ancient  —  temple 
was  rebuilt  by  Augustus,  and  was  in  existence  in  the  time  of 
Hadrian.  In  62  A.  D.  Nero  erected  a  triumphal  arch6  and  a 
trophy  of  victory,  of  which  nothing  further  is  known. 

1  BC.  1896,  116-120;  Hulsen,  Zur  Topographic  des  Kapitols,  215-219. 

2  Liv.  i.  8;  Veil.  i.  8.  5;  Dionys.  ii.  15;  Prop.  iv.  8.  31;  BC.  1905,  211-214. 
8  Liv.  i.  8. 

4  Liv.  i.  30 ;  Ov.  Fast.  iii.  431 ;  Flor.  i.  1 ;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  ii.  761. 

5  Gell.  v.  12 ;  Ov.  Fast.  iii.  429-130,  437-438 ;  Vitr.  iv.  8. 4 ;  Jordan,  I.  2. 116 ; 
Gilbert,  III.  83-84,  401. 

6  Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  41 ;  xv.  18 ;  Cohen,  Nero,  306. 


306  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

During  the  first  centuries  of  the  republic,  private  dwellings 
were  erected  to  some  extent  on  the  Capitoline  hill,  for  in  the 
year  380  B.C.  there  was  a  guild  of  those  who  dwelt  in  Capitolio 
atque  arce;1  and  after  the  treason  of  M.  Manlius,  a  law  was 
passed  which  forbade  any  patrician  to  live  on  either  summit.2 
In  spite  of  such  prohibitions,  the  gradual  destruction  of  the 
fortifications  and  the  demands  of  a  rapidly  increasing  popu- 
lation led  to  continual  encroachments  upon  this  quasi-sacred 
hill.  In  93  B.C.  a  considerable  tract,  which  had  belonged  to 
the  priests,  was  sold  and  came  into  private  possession.3  By 
the  middle  of  the  first  century  the  whole  hill,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  area  Capitolina,  the  actual  sites  of  the  temples,  and 
the  steepest  parts  of  the  slopes,  was  occupied  by  private  houses.4 
Remains5  of  these  houses  have  been  found  on  the  Arx  near  the 
church  of  S.  Maria  in  Aracoeli,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  stairway 
leading  from  the  piazza  del  Campidoglio  to  the  church.  On 
the  east  slope,  below  the  Asylum,  there  still  remains  a  consider- 
able portion  of  a  noble  republican  structure,  the  Tabularium, 
which  formed  an  imposing  facade,  as  it  were,  for  the  whole 
hill  from  the  Forum  side. 

The  Tabularium. —  This  building,6  trapezoidal  in  shape,  filled 
the  entire  space  between  the  clivus  Capitolinus  and  the  flight 
of  steps  (gradus  Monetae  ?)  which  led  up  past  the  Career  to 
the  Arx.  It  is  not  mentioned  in  literature ;  but  an  inscrip- 
tion7 found  in  it  states  that  in  78  B.C.  Q.  Lutatius  Catulus 
erected  substructionem  et  tabularium.  As  the  plan  of  this  build- 
ing seems  to  be  that  of  a  repository  of  archives,  and  as  the 
style  of  masonry  indicates  precisely  this  period,  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  identifying  it  with  the  tabularium  of  Catulus, 

i  Liv.  v.  50.  2  Liv.  vi.  20.  8  Oros.  v.  18.  *  Tac.  Hist.  iii.  71. 

6  NS.  1888,  497;  1889,  68;  Jfitt.1889,  255;  BC.  1873,  111-122, 143-146;  1888, 
331. 

6  Ann.  d.  1st.  1858,  206-212 ;  1881,  62-73;  Jordan,  I.  2. 135-154 ;  Gilbert,  III. 
165-167 ;  Delbruck,  Hellenistische  Bauten  in  Latium,  Strassburg,  1907,  23-46. 

1  CIL.  vi.  1313-1314;  cf.  916. 


THE    CAPITOLINE    HILL.  307 

although  there  were  other  tabularia  in  Rome.  No  changes 
were  made  in  it  during  the  empire,  and  it  remains  by  far  the 
most  interesting,  as  well  as  the  best  preserved,  specimen  of 
republican  architecture.  Nothing  is  known  of  its  history  until 
the  reign  of  Boniface  VIII  (about  1300  A.D.),  when  the  present 
tower  at  the  north  end  was  erected.  Later,  Michelangelo  de- 
stroyed the  entire  upper  and  western  part,  and  built  the  present 
palazzo  del  Seuatore  directly  upon  the  ancient  structure. 

The  front  of  the  Tabularium  is  85  metres  long.  The  slope 
of  the  hill  was  first  scarped  away,  and  the  front  wall  of  the 
building  was  begun  on  the  level  of  the  area  Volcani.  Above 
this  substructure,  on  the  Forum  side,  there  were  three  stories. 
The  first  consists  of  a  long  passage  between  the  tufa  rock  of 
the  hill  itself  and  the  wall  of  the  building.  This  wall  is  here 
3.43  metres  thick,  with  a  series  of  six  recesses  1.68  metres 
high,  from  which  narrow  windows  open.  This  corridor  is  now 
blocked  at  both  ends,  and  may  always  have  been  so. 

Immediately  above  this  corridor  is  another,  5  metres  wide 
and  10  high,  extending  the  whole  length  of  the  building,  and 
originally  open  at  both  ends.  The  arched  doorway  on  the 
clivus  is  still  in  use.  The  front  of  this  corridor  was  an  arcade 
of  the  Doric  order,  with  engaged  columns  of  peperino.  There 
were  eleven  arches,  7.50  metres  in  height  and  3.70  in  width, 
all  but  one  of  which  have  been  walled  up.  This  arcade  afforded 
an  excellent  means  of  communication  between  the  two  portions 
of  the  Capitoline,  and  formed  a  striking  architectural  terminus 
for  the  Forum.  Its  effect,  however,  was  sadly  marred  by  the 
erection  of  the  temple  of  Vespasian  and  the  porticus  Deorum 
Consentium,  and  by  the  restoration  and  enlargement  of  the 
temple  of  Concord.  Above  this  arcade  the  palazzo  is  built, 
but  there  is  little  doubt  that  originally  there  was  a  second 
arcade  above  the  first,  probably  of  another  order. 

We  can  tell  very  little  about  the  arrangement  of  the  upper 
and  west  part  of  the  building ;  but  some  rooms  and  passages 
still  remain,  especially  one  large  hall  behind  the  existing 


308  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

arcade  and  at  a  somewhat  higher  level,  flanked  with  a  row  of 
chambers  cut  in  the  rock.  In  the  wall  of  the  substructure,  at 
the  ground  level,  is  a  fine  arched  doorway,  and  from  it  a  long 
flight  of  sixty-seven  steps,  partly  cut  in  the  rock,  leads  up  to 
the  hall  just  mentioned.  These  steps  have  no  connection  with 
any  other  part  of  the  building,  and  afforded  direct  access  from 
the  Forum  to  the  upper  part  of  the  Tabularium  and  the  Asylum. 
When  the  temple  of  Vespasian  was  built,  its  podium  effectually 
blocked  the  entrance  to  this  staircase. 

The  masonry  of  the  Tabularium  shows  the  very  best  repub- 
lican workmanship.  It  is  wholly  of  opus  quadratum,  the  blocks 
being  uniformly  two  Roman  feet  in  height  and  width,  and 
averaging  four  in  length.  They  are  laid  in  alternate  courses 
of  headers  and  stretchers  (emplecton),  with  a  thin  layer  of  ce- 
ment. The  outer  walls  are  of  peperino,  the  bases  and  capitals 
of  the  half-columns  and  the  imposts  of  the  arches  of  travertine, 
and  the  inner  walls  of  tufa.  As  the  building  was  once  used 
as  a  storehouse  for  salt,  the  inner  walls  have  suffered  much 
from  corrosion.1 

1  For  the  later  history  of  the  Capitoline,  see  Lanciani,  II  Monte  Tarpeio  nel 
secolo  xvi,  BC.  1901,  245-269;  Hiilsen,  Bilder  aus  der  Geschichte  des  Kapitols, 
Rome,  1899;  and  Rodocanachi,  op.  cit. 


CHAPTER   XII. 
THE   SACRA  VIA  AND   THE   VELIA. 

The  Sacra  via,1  the  oldest  and  most  famous  street  in  Rome, 
began  at  the  sacellum  Streniae  —  a  shrine  mentioned  only  in  this 
connection,  and  undoubtedly  near  the  lucus  Streniae 2  —  in  the 
Colosseum  valley,  and  ran  northwest  to  the  summit  of  the  Velia, 
which  it  crossed  near  the  arch  of  Titus.  %  This  was  the  summa 
Sacra  via,  and  from  here  the  street  curved  toward  the  north 
and  entered  the  Forum  at  the  fornix  Fabianus.  Its  course 
from  this  point  to  the  Capitol  has  been  described  (p.  171). 
Originally  the  name  Sacra  via  was  given  only  to  that  part  of 
the  street  which  was  between  the  Velia  and  the  Forum,  but  it 
was  soon  made  to  include  the  whole  extent  from  the  Colosseum 
to  the  Forum,  and  in  modern  times  even  the  part  within  the 
Forum.  The  part  from  the  Forum  to  the  Velia  was  also  called 
the  Sacer  clivus.3 

The  origin  of  the  name  has  been  the  subject  of  much  discus- 
sion.4 The  Romans  themselves  were  not  agreed  in  their  ex- 
planations, some  saying  that  the  street  was  sacra  because  it  was 
the  scene  of  the  famous  treaty  between  Romulus  and  Titus 
Tatius,  and  others  believing  that  it  was  so  called  because  of 
the  religious  processions  which  took  place  there.  The  explan- 
ation now  generally  accepted,  though  not  altogether  satisfactory, 
is  that  this  name  was  given  to  the  street  because  on  it  were  the 
house  of  the  rex  sacriftculus  and  the  temples  of  Vesta  and  the 

1  Varro,  LL.  v.  ¥1;  Fest.  290;  Jordan,  I.  2.  274-286,  415-416;  3.  14-15;  Gil- 
bert, I.  214-220,  236-238,  300-335 ;  Richter,  Top.2  369-370.   For  another  view  of 
its  course  see  Melanges,  1908,  233-253. 

2  Sym.  Ep.  x.  35  (46) ;  JBC.  1905.  210.  «  Hor.  Od.  iv.  2.  36. 

4  See  literature  cited  above,  and  Binder,  Die  Plebs,  62-64.  • 

309 


310 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF   ANCIENT  ROME. 


Lares.  It  may  be  that  the  street  itself,  from  its  very  position 
and  early  importance,  was  regarded  as  something  intrinsically 
sacred.1 

During  the  recent  excavations,2  the  medieval  pavement  23 
metres  wide,  including  the  sidewalks,  which  was  laid  along  the 
front  of  the  basilica  of  Constantine  to  S.  Francesca  Romana, 


FIG.  63.  —  PAVEMENT  OF  THE  SACRA  VIA. 

was  removed,  and  that  of  the  Augustan  period  was  found, 
2  metres  below  the  medieval.  This  imperial  pavement  is  5 
metres  wide ;  and  in  front  of  the  basilica  it  makes  a  bend 
southward  toward  the  arch  of  Titus.  A  part  of  this  curve  lay 
beneath  massive  concrete  foundations  which  run  in  parallel 

l  Mitt.  1895,  162. 

2JVS.  1899,  265-266;   BC.  1900,   10-11;  1902,  34;  1903,  19-23;  Arch.  Am. 
1900,  9;  CE.  1899,  322,  467;  1900,  239;  1902,  96,  286;  Mitt.  1902,  94-95. 


p.Sll 


FIG.  64.— THE  SACRA  VIA. 


312  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

lines  first  southeast,  and  then  turning  at  a  right  angle  south- 
west ;  but  the  imperial  pavement  has  been  found  farther  east, 
beyond  the  arch  of  Titus,  and  this  was  the  line  of  the  street, 
at  least  until  the  time  of  Nero.1  From  the  Sacra  via  another 
street  branched  off  to  the  south,  crossed  the  Nova  via,  and 
ascended  the  Palatine.  This  is  the  street  which  is  generally 
called  the  clivus  Palatinus,  and  its  ancient  pavement 2  has  been 
found  beneath  the  arch  of  Titus  and  south  of  the  Nova  via. 
Whether  the  name  Sacer  clivus 3  was  also  applied  to  this  street, 
as  well  as  to  the  Sacra  via  between  the  Velia  and  Forum,  is 
a  matter  of  dispute.  The  north  end  of  the  foundations  of  the 
arch  stands  upon  the  pavement  of  this  street,  which  with  its 
travertine  curbs  is  still  in  situ  on  the  west  front  of  the  arch. 
After  the  level  was  raised  here,  and  the  earlier  pavement 
covered,  the  new  clivus  was  straighter  and  wider,  forming 
a  sort  of  avenue  which  was  the  principal  way  of  approach  to 
the  Palatine  (see  p.  165). 

Under  the  east  end  of  the  basilica  of.  Constantino,  and  project- 
ing out  toward  the  south,  are  the  foundations  and  walls  of  older 
private  houses  and  also  of  a  building,  usually  identified  with 
the  horrea  Piperataria,  or  pepper  warehouse,  which  was  built  by 
Domitian  on  the  north  side  of  the  Sacra  via.  The  visible 
portions  are,  however,  oriented  according  to  the  line  of  the 
Augustan  pavement,  on  which  they  border,  and  seem  to  ante- 
date the  Flavian  period,  so  that  it  is  probable  that  Domitian's 
horrea,  destroyed  by  the  building  of  the  basilica  of  Constantine, 
were  entirely  within  its  area,  and  that  changes  in  the  width, 
line,  and  elevation  of  this  part  of  the  Sacra  via  had  taken 
place  during  the  reign  of  Nero,  when  the  massive  concrete 
foundations  mentioned  above  were  built.  After  these  changes 
the  Sacra  via  from  the  arch  of  Fabius  east  appears  to  have 

1  See  Miss  Van  Deman,  quoted  by  Ashby  in  London  Times,  Mar.  26,  1910. 

2  CR.  1908,  13G;  1905,  237;  1909,  61;  Mitt.  1905,  119;  BC.  1903,  17-18. 

»  Mart.  i.  70;  iv.  78;  OR.  1902,  336;  Gilbert,  III.  423-424;  Richter,  Top.* 
160  n. 


THE   SACRA   VIA   AND   THE   VELIA.  313 

been  an  avenue,  about  20  metres  wide,  flanked  on  both  sides 
by  porticoes  and  shops,  those  on  the  north  side  being  finally 
destroyed  by  the  erection  of  the  basilica  of  Constantine. 

On  the  summa  Sacra  via  stood  the  house  of  the  rex  sacrorum,1 
where  this  priest  dwelt  after  the  expulsion  of  the  kings,  and 
the  temple  of  the  Lares,2  which,  although  very  ancient,  is  not 
mentioned  in  literature  before  106  B.C.  This  temple  was  re- 
stored by  Augustus.  Some  tufa  walls  and  travertine-  frag- 
ments found  recently  just  southwest  of  the  arch  of  Titus,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  clivus  Palatinus,  have  been  identified 
with  this  temple,  but  they  probably  belong  to  shops. 

Just  east  of  the  arch  of  Titus  are  the  ruins  of  a  building 
which  is  probably  to  be  identified  with  the  temple  of  luppiter 
Stator  (p.  137).3  These  ruins  consist  of  a  large  rectangular  plat- 
form of  concrete,  on  which  are  some  enormous  blocks  of  pepe- 
rino  and  travertine.  On  this  foundation  the  medieval  turris 
Cartularia  was  built,  which  served  as  a  refuge  for  the  popes  in 
the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries.  Very  recently  some  tufa 
walls  have  been  excavated,  close  to  the  northeast  side  of  the  arch 
of  Titus  and  beneath  its  foundations,  and  it  is  perhaps  possible 
that  these  may  belong  to  the  temple  at  an  earlier  period  when 
its  position  was  slightly  different. 

Near  the  temple  of  the  Lares  was  the  fanum  Orbonae,4  which 
is  mentioned  only  once.  A  temple  of  Bacchus  and  a  tholus  of 
Oybele  are  also  once  mentioned  together.5  They  stood  on  the 
summa  Sacra  via,  near  its  junction  with  the  clivus  Palatinus 
and  near  the  arch  of  Titus.  On  the  Haterii  relief  is  a  repre- 
sentation of  a  statue  of  the  Magna  Mater,  seated  under  an  arch 


i  Varro,  LL.  v.  47 ;  Vest.  291 ;  Gilbert,  I.  225. 

*  Solin.  i.  23;  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  7;  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  791 ;  Obseq.  41;  OIL.  vi.  456; 
Jordan,  1.2.  420;  Gilbert,  III.  424;  CR.  1905,  75-76,  237,  328;  1909,  61;  Mitt. 
1JW5,  118-119. 

8  Lanciani,  Ruins,  200;  BC.  1903,  18;  Jordan,  I.  3.  20-23;  CR.  1909,  61. 

4  Cic.  de  Nat.  Deor.  iii.  63. 

5  Mart.  i.  70.  9-10;  Altmann,  Rundbauten,  71-72. 


314  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

at  the  top  of  a  flight  of  thirteen  steps,  and  this  may  be  in- 
tended for  the  tholus  of  Cybele.1  During  the  recent  excava- 
tions in  the  Sacra  via,  a  part  of  a  curved  epistyle  was  found, 
which  bears  a  dedicatory  inscription  to  Bacchus  and  is  there- 
fore supposed  to  have  belonged  to  the  first  of  these  two  temples.2 

Farther  down  the  street,  perhaps  on  the  site  afterward  oc- 
cupied by  the  Heroou  Romuli,  was  the  temple  of  the  Penates,3 
which  tradition  ascribed  to  Tullus  Hostilius.  It  was  restored 
by  Augustus,  but  was  probably  removed  by  Vespasian  when  he 
built  the  forum  Pacis. 

On  the  Velia  was  a  shrine  of  Mutunus  Tutunus,4  a  deity  of 
fertility,  which  was  said  to  have  been  removed  to  make  room 
for  the  house  of  Cn.  Domitius  Calvinus ;  and  another  of  Vica 
Pota,5  apparently  identical  with  Victoria,  which  stood  on  the 
site  originally  occupied  by  the  house  of  the  Valerii.6  In  regard 
to  this  house,  tradition  varied  widely.  According  to  one  ac- 
count,7 Valerius  Poplicola  lived,  at  the  beginning  of  the  repub- 
lic, in  summa  Velia,  but  was  forced  by  the  people  to  tear  this 
house  down  and  build  again  infra  Veliam,  because  his  first 
dwelling  seemed  too  much  like  a  stronghold.  According  to 
another  account,8  this  house,  in  summa  Velia  or  in  Palatio,  was 
given  to  Valerius  or  to  his  brother  Marcus  by  the  people  as  an 
especial  honor.  It  is,  however,  probably  true  that  the  early 
home  of  the  gens  Valeria  was  on  this  ridge,  and  also  their  sep- 
ulchre.9 Tullus  Hostilius  10  was  believed  to  have  lived  here 


i  Mitt.  1895,  25-27.  2  Mitt.  1902,  96 ;  BC.  1903,  27-29. 

8  Varro,   LL.  v.  54;  Solin.  i.  22;  Liv.  xlv.  16;  Dionys.  i.  68;  Obseq.  13; 
Man.  Anc.  iv.  7 ;  Gilbert,  II.  81-84. 

4  Fest.  154;  Gilbert,  I.  156;  II.  369-370. 
6  Cic.  de  Legg.  ii.  28. 

6  Jordan,  I.  2.  416;  Gilbert,  I.  106-109;  EE.  iii.  1-4;  GIL.  P.  pp.  189-190; 
Melanges,  1908,  241. 

7  Liv.  ii.  7;  Plut.  Popl.  10;  cf.  Dionys.  v.  19;  Val.  Max.  i.  1. 1. 

8  Cic.  de  Har.  Resp.  16;  Asc.  in  Pis.  52;  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  112. 

9  Cic.  de  Legg.  ii.  58;  Dionys.  v.  48;  Plut.  Quaest.  Rom.  79. 
1°  Cic.  de  Rep.  ii.  53. 


THE   SACRA   VIA  AND  THE   VELIA.  315 

'and  other  kings,  Numa,  Ancus  Marcius,  and  Tarquinius 
Superbus,  near  by  on  the  Sacra  via.1 

There  were  many  private  houses 2  on  and  near  the  Sacra  via, 
of  which  many  remains  of  the  period  of  the  republic  have  re- 
cently been  found.  Those  who  lived  in  this  district  were  called 
Sacravienses.3  Their  dwellings  gradually  disappeared  before 
the  increasing  demands  of  business,  but  a  house  on  the  Sacra 
via  was  given  to  P.  Scipio  Nasica 4  at  the  end  of  the  third  cen- 
tury B.C.,  and  the  domus  Domitiana 5  apparently  continued  to  be 
the  residence  of  that  family  throughout  the  republic.  In  the 
last  years  of  the  republic,  the  houses  of  a  certain  Tettius  Darnio6 
and  of  Octavius7  were  on  the  Sacra  via.  The  most  extensive 
remains  are  in  the  angle  formed  by  the  Nova  via  and  the  clivus 
Palatinus,  where  the  recent  excavations  have  brought  to  light  a 
very  complicated  series  of  walls  of  tufa  and  opus  reticulatum, 
with  pavements  of  mosaic  and  herring-bone  brick,  which  date 
from  the  republic  and  the  time  of  Augustus.  The  earliest  of 
these  walls  lie  at  least  12  metres  below  the  level  of  the  arch 
of  Titus.  They  were  built  at  successive  periods,  but  finally 
cut  through  by  the  concrete  walls  mentioned  on  p.  310,  and 
covered  up  to  the  later  level. 

Like  all  the  first  streets  in  great  cities,  the  Sacra  via  became 
in  process  of  time  largely  a  street  of  shops.8  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  empire  it  is  probable  that  these  shops  stood  on 
both  sides  of  the  way,  from  the  entrance  to  the  Forum  (for- 
nix  Fabianus)  to  the  Velia,  but  in  consequence  of  the  great 
transformations  wrought  by  the  erection  of  the  forum  Pacis, 
the  templum  Sacrae  Urbis,  and  the  temple  of  Faustina,  they 
were  gradually  restricted  for  the  most  part  to  the  south  side 


i  Solin.  i.  22 ;  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  29. 

a  Gilbert,  III.  360 ;  Mitt.  1902,  94-95 ;  1905, 118.  «  Fest.  178. 

*  Pomp.  Dig.  i.  2.  2.  37.  «  CIL.  vi.  p.  487. 

«  Cic.  ad  Att.  iv.  3.  3.  '  Sail.  Hist.  Frag.  ii.  45. 

«Ov.  Ars  Am.  ii.  266-266;  Amor.  i.  8.  100;  Prop.  ii.  24.  14-15;    Richter, 
Top.1 163-164. 


316  TOPOGRAPHY  OF   ANCIENT  ROME. 

of  the  street  between  the  atrium  Vestae  and  the  arch  of  Titus. ' 
Here  it  seems  probable  that  as  early  as  the  first  century  a 
great  porticus  was  planned  and  at  least  partly  built,  in  which 
all  the  shops  should  be  gathered,  and  that  for  this  porticus 
the  existing  republican  buildings  were  destroyed  and  covered 
up.  This  porticus  was  evidently  rebuilt  at  various  times,  as 
after  the  fire  of  191  A.D.,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  it  is 
to  be  identified  with  the  porticus  Margaritaria,1  which  stood 
here  in  the  fourth  century.  As  many  inscriptions2  have  been 
found  which  relate  to  the  tradesmen  of  the  Sacra  via,  espe- 
cially jewellers  of  all  sorts,  it  is  evident  that  these  shops 
were  largely  devoted  to  this  business.  There  were  also 
shops3  where  flowers,  fruit,  and  the  chief  articles  of  luxury 
of  the  capital  were  sold. 

Beneath  the  pavement  in  front  of  the  temple  of  Romulus 
and  extending  to  the  temple  of  Faustina  are  remains  of  houses 
of  the  republican  period,  and  a  series  of  rooms  opening  off  from 
a  corridbr,  which  were  incorporated  into  the  foundations  of  the 
temple.  These  rooms  are  built  of  tufa  and  paved  with  opus 
spicatum,  and  may  have  served  as  storerooms  for  the  shop- 
keepers of  the  Sacra  via.4 

The  Temple  of  Venus  and  Roma. —  This  double  temple,  the 
largest  and  most  magnificent  in  Rome,  was  built  by  Hadrian* 
and  dedicated  to  Venus  Felix,  the  ancestress  of  the  Roman 
people,  and  to  the  genius  of  the  city,  Roma  Aeterna.  In  ac- 

1  BC.  1882,  228;  Jordan,  I.  2.  288;  CR.  1900,  238;    1905,  75-76;  Arch.  Am. 
1900,  9;  1902,  51;  Mitt.  1902,  98. 

2  OIL.  vi.  9207,  9221,  9239,  9418,  9419,  9545-9549. 
«  CIL.  vi.  9795,  9283,  9935,  9418-9419. 

4  Mitt.  1902,  94;  NS.  1902,  96;  BC.  1902,  31-34;  1903,  30-32.    The  identifica- 
tion in  these  last  two  journals  of  these  rooms  with  the  career  in  lautumiis  is 
erroneous. 

5  Dio  Cass.  Ixix.  4 ;  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  146 ;  Prud.  c.  Symm.  i.  214 ;  Jordan, 
I.  3.  17-20;  Rivoira,  Lombardic  Architecture.  Its  Origin,  Development,  and 
Derivatives,  London,  1910,  vol.  ii.  100-102,  and  Nuova  Antologia,  1910,  631- 
638. 


THE   SACRA   VIA   AND   THE   VELIA. 


317 


cordance  with  Roman  theory  in  such  matters,  it  was  necessary 
to  build  a  separate  cella  for  each  goddess,  and  in  this  case  the 
cellae  were  not  erected  side  by  side,  but  back  to  back,  one  fac- 
ing east  and  the  other  west.  The  temple  was  injured  by  fire 
in  307  A.D.  and  restored  by  Maxeutius.1 

The  temple  proper  was  built  on  an  enormous  podium  of  con- 
crete faced  with  travertine,  145  metres  long  and  100  wide,  on 


Wm///////////////////^ 
FIG.  65. —PLAN  OF  CELLAE  OF  TEMPLE  OF  VENUS  AND  ROMA. 

the  north  side  of  the  Sacra  via,  between  the  Velia  and  the  Colos- 
seum. This  necessitated  the  removal 2  of  the  Colossus  Neronis 
(p.  335),  which  was  then  set  up  nearer  the  Colosseum,  where 
its  base  still  remains  visible.  Owing  to  the  slope  of  the  ground, 
the  height  of  the  podium  at  the  east  end  is  very  considerable, 
and  chambers  were  constructed  in  it  for  the  storage  of  the 
machinery  and  apparatus  of  the  amphitheatre.  On  this  podium 
was  a  peribolus  formed  of  a  colonnade  consisting  of  an  outer 
wall  and  a  single  row  of  enormous  columns  of  gray  Egyptian 
granite  on  the  sides,  and  probably  of  a  double  row  of  columns 
only  on  the  ends.  Many  fragments  of  these  still  lie  on  the 
podium.  This  colonnade  had  projections  like  propylaea  at 
the  corners  and  at  the  middle  of  the  long  sides.  At  the 
west  end  of  the  podium  a  wide  flight  of  steps  led  down  to 
the  paved  area  in  front  of  the  temple;  but  at  the  east  end 
there  were  only  two  small  flights.  A  wide  flight  here  would 


1  Aur.  Viet.  Caes.  40. 


2Spart.  Vit.  Hadr.  19. 


318  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

have  encroached  too  much  upon  the  area  round  the  Colosseum. 
The  temple  proper  was  raised  on  a  platform,  seven  steps  high, 
in  the  centre  of  the  peribolus.  The  two  cellae  ended  in  apses 
placed  back  to  back ;  but,  as  the  side  walls  of  the  cellae  were 
prolonged  so  as  to  meet,  the  external  appearance  was  that  of 
one  long  rectangular  building.  This  temple1  was  decastyle 
and  pseudodipteral,  the  columns  of  the  peristyle  being  of 
white  marble,  about  1. 8  metres  in  diameter.  The  cellae  were 
narrower  than  the  facade,  and  each  pronaos  had  only  four 
columns  between  the  antae.  The  building  was  constructed  of 
concrete  and  brick,  and  covered  entirely  with  marble.  Within 
the  cellae,  on  each  side,  were  rows  of  porphyry  columns  sup- 
porting an  entablature.  In  the  apses  were  five  niches,  alter- 
nately square  and  semicircular,  with  columns  and  entablatures 
in  front  of  them.  In  the  central  niche  of  each  apse  was  the 
statue  of  the  goddess  herself,  —  Venus  in  one  and  Koma  in 
the  other,  —  and  there  were  also  other  works  of  art  in  the  tem- 
ple.2 A  single  staircase,3  between  the  apses  on  the  south  side 
led  to  the  top  of  the  temple.  The  roof  was  covered  with  gilt 
tiles,  and  the  pediments  were  sculptured  in  relief.  A  part  of  the 
west  front  of  the  temple  is  represented  on  two  fragments 
of  a  relief,4  which,  although  in  separate  museums,  the  Lateran 
and  the  Museo  delle  Terme,  belong  together.  One  of  these 
fragments  shows  that  on  the  west  pediment  there  were 
reliefs  of  Mars  visiting  Ehea  Silvia  and  of  the  she-wolf  suck- 
ling the  twins.  The  greater  part  of  the  west  cella  has  been 
destroyed,  and  its  area  partly  covered  by  the  cloisters  of  the 
church  of  S.  Francesca  Romana,  which  was  built  in  1612  on 
the  site  of  an  earlier  church.  The  apse  and  part  of  the  wall 
of  the  other  cella  still  stand  in  ruins,  with  portions  of  the 

1  Cf.  Cohen,  Pius,  698-703,  1074-1076;  BC.  1903,  19. 

2  Treb.  Pol.  Vit.  Tyr.  Trig.  32;  Dio  Cass.  Ixxi.  31. 
8  Rivoira,  opp.  eitt. 

*  Mitt.  1895,  248;  Matz-Duhn,  Antike  Bildwerke,  3519;  Strong,  Sculpture, 
238-240. 


THE   SACRA   VIA   AND   THE   VELIA.  319 

pedestals  of  columns  and  bits  of  mosaic  pavement   made  of 
colored  marbles  and  porphyry. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  this  temple  with  its  enormous 
peribolus  really  falls  into  the  same  category  of  buildings  as 
the  imperial  fora,  of  which  it  formed  a  virtual  continuation. 

Arches.  —  The  first  honorary  arch  in  the  Forum  was  the 
fornix  Fabianus  or  arcus  Fabiorum,1  erected  by  Q.  Fabius  Allobro- 
gicus  in  121  B.C.  to  commemorate  his  victory  over  the  Allo- 
broges:  This  small  and  single  arch  stood  on  the  Sacra  via,  a 
little  to  the  east  of  the  Eegia.  Some  portions  of  it  were 
found  in  1882,2  and  others  during  the  recent  excavations, 
among  them  all  the  blocks  of  the  arch  proper,  the  span  of 
which  is  about  4  metres.  These  blocks  are  of  travertine  and 
the  core  of  the  arch  was  of  peperino  and  tufa.  Its  exact  site  is 
still  somewhat  uncertain,  as  no  trace  of  its  foundations  has 
been  discovered.3 

At  the  extreme  east  end  of  the  Sacra  via,  near  the  Colos- 
seum, was  an  arch  known  to  us  only  from  the  Haterii  relief 
(Fig.  2),  on  which  it  is  represented  as  triple,  with  the  inscrip- 
tion arcus  ad  Isis  on  the  attic.4  This  is  generally  supposed  to 
have  been  only  the  popular  name  for  the  arch. 

The  arch  of  Titus  is  the  most  celebrated  as  well  as  the 
oldest  now  standing  and  the  smallest  of  the  so-called  trium- 
phal arches  in  Rome.  It  was  erected  in  summa  Sacra  via  by 
Domitian,  in  honor  of  the  deified  Titus  and  in  commemoration 
of  his  siege  of  Jerusalem.  It  suffered  serious  damage  in  the 
middle  ages,  especially  during  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  cen- 
turies, when  it  formed  part  of  the  city  stronghold  of  the  Fran- 
gipani  family.  In  1822  it  was  taken  down  and  rebuilt.  The 

i  Cic.  pro  Plane.  17 ;  in  Verr.  i.  19  ;  de  Or.  ii.  267 ;  Schol.  pp.  133, 393, 399,  ed. 
Orelli ;  Sen.  Dial  ii.  1.  3 ;  OIL.  i2.  p.  198 ;  vi.  1303-1304 ;  Jordan,  1. 2.  209 ;  Gil- 
bert, I.  310-312;  AJA.  1904,  15;  Hulsen,  Festschrift  zu  Hirschf eld's  6Otem 
Geburtstag,  Berlin,  1903.  427-428. 

»  NS.  1882,  222-226.  *  Mitt.  1902,  94 ;  Mdlanges,  1908,  89-95. 

*  Gilbert,  III.  193-194. 


320 


TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


central  portion  alone,  of  Pentelic  marble,  is  original,  the  two 
ends  being  restorations  in  travertine.  The  archway  is  8.30 
metres  high  and  5.35  metres  wide.1  Above  it  is  a  simple 
entablature,  and  an  attic  4.40  metres  in  height,  on  which  is 


FIG.  66.  —  THE  ARCH  OF  TITUS. 


the  inscription.2  On  each  side  is  an  engaged  and  fluted  Co- 
rinthian column,  standing  on  a  square  pedestal.  The  capital 
of  these  columns  are  the  earliest  examples  of  Composite  style. 


OR.  1902,  286. 


2  OIL.  vi.  945. 


THE   SACRA   VIA  AND  THE  VELIA. 


321 


On  the  inner  jambs  of  the  arch  are  the  two  famous  reliefs,1 
that  on  the  south  representing  the  spoils  from  the  temple  at 


FIG.  67. — THE  AKCH  OF  CONSTANTINE. 

Jerusalem,  the  table  of  shewbread,  the   seven-branched  can- 
dlestick, and  the  silver  trumpets,  which  are  being  carried  in 

i  PBS.  Hi.  276-279;  v.  178;  Strong,  Sculpture,  105-122. 


322  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

triumph  into  the  city ;  and  that  on  the  north  representing 
Titus  standing  in  a  quadriga,  the  horses  of  which  are  led  by 
Eoma,  while  Victory  crowns  the  emperor  with  laurel  as  he 
passes  through  a  triumphal  arch. 

In  the  centre  of  the  ceiling  of  the  archway,  which  is  finished 
in  soffits  (lacunaria),  is  a  relief  of  the  apotheosis  of  Titus,  rep- 
resenting him  as  being  carried  up  to  heaven  by  an  eagle.  The 
frieze  is  ornamented  with  small  figures  representing  sacrificial 
scenes,  and  in  the  spandrels  are  the  usual  winged  Victories. 
On  the  keystones  are  figures  of  Roma  and  the  Genius  Populi 
Romani  (or  Fortuna)  with  a  cornucopia.  Since  the  founda- 
tions of  the  arch  rest  upon  the  pavement  of  the  clivus  Palatinus 
(cf.  p.  312),  it  has  been  supposed  by  some  that  the  arch  stood 
originally  farther  north  and  was  moved  when  the  temple  of 
Venus  and  Roma  was  built,  a  rather  doubtful  hypothesis.1 

Southwest  of  the  Colosseum,  at  the  entrance  to  the  valley 
between  the  Palatine  and  the  Caelian,  near  the  point  where  the 
ancient  road  through  this  valley  joined  the  Sacra  via,  stands 
the  arch  of  Constantine,  which  was  built  by  Constantino  to  com- 
memorate his  victory  over  Maxentius  at  the  pons  Mulvius  in 
312  A.D.2  This  arch,  the  largest  and  best  preserved  in  Rome, 
stands  at  the  beginning  of  the  modern  via  di  S.  Gregorio,  which 
coincides  with  the  line  of  the  ancient  street,  and  is  now  often 
called  the  via  Triumphalis.  The  arch  was  erected,  however,  at 
a  higher  level,3  for  the  marble  pavement  of  the  area  in  which 
it  stood,  is  just  below  the  present  level,  while  the  pavement 
of  the  street,  belonging  apparently  to  the  later  empire  (p.  107), 
lies  more  than  2  metres  lower  still.  The  arch  is  built  of  white 
marble,  is  21  metres  high,  25.70  wide,  and  7.40  deep,  and  has 
three  archways.  That  in  the  centre  is  11.50  metres  high  and 
6.50  wide,  those  at  the  sides  7.40  metres  high  and  3.36  wide. 


*Mitt.  1905,  118;   Berl.  Phil.  Wochenschrift,  1908,   1034;   Melanges,  1908, 
247-248. 

2  OIL.  vi.  1139;  Jordan,  I.  3.  25-28.  »  Mitt.  1891,  92. 


THE   SACRA   VIA   AND   THE    VELIA.  323 

Between  the  archways  and  at  the  corners  are  eight  fluted  Co- 
rinthian columns,  7  metres  high  and  0.75  in  diameter.  These 
columns  are  monoliths  of  giallo  antico,  except  one,  which  is  of 
white  marble  and  replaces  the  original,  which  has  been  removed 
to  the  Lateran.  Above  the  arches  is  an  entablature,  and  an  attic 
6.60  metres  high.  Above  the  columns  are  projecting  pedestals 
round  which  the  cornice  runs.  These  pedestals  support  statues 
of  barbarian  prisoners,  sculptured  in  the  round.  In  the  cen- 
tral part  of  the  attic,  on  both  sides  of  the  arch,  is  the  dedica- 
tory inscription.  The  arch  is  richly  decorated  with  reliefs, 
some  of  which  are  of  the  period  of  Constantine  and  exhibit  the 
characteristic  decadence  of  that  era,  while  the  others  are  of 
earlier  date  and  were  removed  from  their  original  position  by 
Constantine.  To  this  latter  class  belong :  — 

(1)  The  round  medallions l  over  the  side  arches,  representing 
the  emperor  in  alternate  sacrificial  and  hunting  scenes.     The 
four  on  the  south  faqade  belong  to  the  Flavian  period  and  have 
not  been  altered;  those  on  the  north  are  Flavian  or  Hadrianic, 
and  in  two  of  them  the  head  of  Coustantine  has  been  substituted 
for   the  original.     In  the  other   two  the  original  heads  have 
been  worked  over  into  portraits  of  an  emperor  of  the  third 
century,  probably  Claudius  Gothicus.     The  Flavian  medallions 
may  perhaps  have  belonged  to  the  temple  of  the  gens  Flavia 
(p.  504). 

(2)  The  two  reliefs  at  the  ends  of  the  arch  and  the  two  on 
the  jambs  of  the  central  archway,  representing  combats  between 
Romans  and  Dacians  and  scenes  of  victory.2    These  date  from 
the  time  of  Trajan,  and  appear  to  have  been  parts  of  a  long 
band  which  belonged  to  some  structure  quite  different  from,  an 
arch,  perhaps  the  inclosing  wall  of  his  Forum. 

(3)  The  eight  rectangular  reliefs 3  in  the  attic  over  the  side 

*  Mitt.  1889,  314-339;  1891,  93;  1907,  345-360;  PBS.  iii.  229-251;  Strong, 
Sculpture,  131-141 ;  CR.  1905,  183-184. 

2  PBS.  iii.  225-228;  Strong,  op.  cit.  158-164. 

»  BC.  1900,  75-116;  PBS.  iii.  251-268 ;  Strong,  op.  cit.  291-294,  392-394. 


324  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

archways,  which  represent  the  emperor  entering  Rome,  engag- 
ing in  sacrifice,  receiving  an  address  from  his  soldiers  and 
addressing  them,  receiving  Dacian  captives  and  kings  who  are 
paying  homage,  dispensing  charity,  dismissing  praetorians  who 
had  served  out  their  time,  and  taking  part  in  a  lastratio.  These 
reliefs  belong  to  the  period  of  the  Antonines,  but  are  an  evident 
imitation  of  the  style  of  the  preceding  half-century.  Three 
other  reliefs  1  of  the  same  series  are  now  in  the  palazzo  dei 
Conservatori,  and  it  has  been  plausibly  suggested  that  they 
belonged  to  an  arch 2  erected  in  176  A.D.  to  commemorate  the 
victories  of  Marcus  Aurelius  in  the  Sarmatian  and  German 
wars  (p.  275). 

To  the  same  period  as  the  arch  itself  belong  the  remaining 
decorations,  —  the  sculptured  band 3  above  the  side  arches  and 
on  the  ends  representing  a  battle  at  a  river,  the  siege  of  a  city, 
triumphal  processions,  a  largess  to  the  people,  and  the  Rostra ; 
the  statues  on  the  columns;  the  two  round  medallions  at  the 
ends  representing  the  setting  of  the  moon  and  the  rising 
of  the  sun ; 4  the  barbarian  captives  on  the  pedestals  of  the 
columns;  and  the  Victories  and  river-gods  in  the  spandrels. 

Near  the  arch  of  Constantino,  on  the  Sacra  via,  was  a  statue 
of  Cloelia  (p.  138),  and  also  one  of  Komulus,  while  the  corre- 
sponding statue  of  Titus  Tatius  was  at  the  other  end  of  the 
street  near  the  Rostra.5 

Amphitheatrum  Flavium.  —  Gladiatorial  combats6  are  said  to 
have  been  introduced  into  Rome  in  264  B.C.,  and  venationes,7  ox- 
fights  with  wild  animals,  twelve  years  later.  During  the 
republican  period  these  performances  usually  took  place  in  the 
Forum,  where  temporary  platforms,  maeniana  (p.  169),  were 

1  Helbig,  F'uhrer  durch  dieMuseen  Roms,  2d  ed.  559-561. 

2  OIL.  vi.  1014. 

8  Bull.  Crist.  1907,  55-61 ;  Atti  d.  Pont.  Accad.  di  Archeologia,  1901,  107- 
134;  1904,  3-23;  PJiS.  iv.  270^276;  CR.  1906,235:  Strong,  op.  cit.  331-337. 
4  Strong,  op.  cit.  330-331.  6  Serv.  in  Aen.  viii.  641 ;  Gilbert,  I.  24-25. 

e  Liv.  Epit.  xvi.  '  PI.  NH.  viii.  16-17. 


THE   SACRA   VIA   AND   THE   VELIA.  325 

erected  for  the  spectators.  In  59  B.C.  Curio  is  said  to  have 
devised  the  strange  plan  of  building  two  theatres  l  back  to 
back,  which  were  supported  on  pivots,  and  could  therefore  be 
turned  round,  so  as  to  form  together  a  circular  structure  in 
which  a  show  of  this  sort  could  be  held.  This  new  kind  of  spec- 
tacular building  was  called  by  the  Greek  name,  amphitheatrum. 

The  first  permanent  stone  amphitheatre  was  erected  in  the 
campus  Martius  by  Statilius  Taurus  in  30  B.C.  (p.  364);  but 
the  great  amphitheatre  of  Home,  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
buildings  in  the  world,  belongs  to  a  much  later  time.  It  was 
begun  by  Vespasian,  and  opened  and  dedicated  by  Titus  in 
80  A.D.2  This  wonderful  structure  was  called  the  amphi- 
theatrum Flavium,  but  since  the  middle  ages  it  has  been 
commonly  known  as  the  Colosseum.  The  low  ground  between 
the  Velia,  the  Esquiline,  and  the  Caelian  had  been  included 
within  the  domus  Aurea,  and  here  Nero  had  constructed  an 
artificial  pond,  or  stagnum,  marts  instar  circumsaeptum  aedijiciis 
ad  urbium  speciem.3  When  Vespasian  destroyed  so  much  of 
the  domus  Aurea,  he  built  the  amphitheatre  on  the  site  of  the 
stagnum,  —  one  of  the  most  accessible  in  the  city. 

Although  the  amphitheatre  was  opened  by  Titus,  it  is  uncer- 
tain whether  it  was  entirely  finished  during  his  reign  or  during 
that  of  Domitian,4  and  it  was  afterward  restored  by  Trajan 
and  Antoninus  Pius.5  In  217  A.D.  it  was  struck  by  lightning,6 
and  so  seriously  damaged  that  no  more  gladiatorial  combats 
could  be  held  in  the  building  until  222-223,  when  the  repairs 
begun  by  Elagabalus7  were  completed  by  Alexander  Severus8 
(or  perhaps  by  Gordianus  III).  Again,  in  250,  the  building 
was  restored  by  Decius,9  after  a  fire  caused  by  another  stroke 


1  PI.  NH.  xxx vi.  117-120. 

2  Suet.  Vesp.  9;  Tit.  7;  Viet.  Caes.  9.  7;  Dio  Cass.  Ixvi.  25;  Jordan,  I.  3. 
282-298. 

8  Suet.  Nero,  31 ;  Mart,  de  Spect.  2.  5.  <  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  146. 

6  Jul.  Cap.  Vit.  Pit,  8.    6  Dio  Cass.  Ixxviii.  2T).    1  Lamprid.  Vit.  Elagab.  17. 

8  Lamprid.  Vit.  Alex.  24.  »  Hieron.  Chron.  p.  181. 


THE    SACRA   VIA   AND   THE    VELIA.  327 

of  lightning.  It  was  injured  by  the  earthquake  of  442,  and 
probably  again  a  few  years  later,  for  restorations  are  recorded 
which  were  carried  on  by  Theodosius  II  and  Valentinian  III 
in  442,1  and  by  Anthemius  between  467  and  472.2  Still  later 


FIG.  69.  —  SECTIONAL  PLAN  OF  THE  COLOSSEUM. 

repairs  were  made  by  Basilius  in  508,3  and  by  Eutharich  in 
519. 

The  last  gladiatorial  combats4  took  place  in  the  amphi- 
theatre in  404  A.D.,  and  the  last  recorded  venationes 5  in  523. 
In  the  sixth  century  began  the  gradual  destruction  of  the  great 
structure,  which  suffered  from  all  the  causes  which  combined 
to  wreck  the  imperial  city.  The  greatest  destruction,  however, 

l  GIL.  vi.  1763.  2  (jiL.  v}.  p.  SGO,  n.  100.  «  CIL.  vi.  32094. 

4  Theodoretus,  v.  26.  6  Cassiodor.  Far.  v.  42. 


328 


TOPOGRAPHY  Of  AHCIENT  HOME. 


was  wrought  by  those  who  regarded  the  building  as  a  traver- 
tine quarry.  Out  of  it  were  built  many  medieval  palaces, 
among  them  the  Cancelleria,  the  Farnese,  and  the  Venezia. 
No  other  Roman  building  has  had  so  interesting  and  varied  a 
history.1  During  the  last  century  various  attempts  were 
made  to  preserve  the  remaining  portions  from  further  ruin, 


FIG.  70.  —  THE  COLOSSEUM. 

especially  by  the  popes  between  1805  and  1852,  when  great 
buttresses  were  built  to  support  the  ends  of  the  walls. 

Under  the  direction  of  Canina  (1850-1852),  thirteen  of  the 
arches  on  the  third  story  and  seven  of  those  on  the  fourth 
were  restored,  the  outer  wall  strengthened,  new  stairways 
erected,  and  the  marble  columns  and  pediment  of  the  main 
entrance,  which  had  been  taken  away,  were  replaced  by 

1  Cf .  Babucke,  Geschichte  des  Kolosseums,  Konigsberg,  1899. 


THE   SACRA   VIA  AND   THE   VELIA.  329 

travertine.  These  restorations,  however,  were  carried  too  far, 
and  have  rendered  much  of  the  original  construction  some- 
what obscure.  In  spite  of  these  injuries,  enough  of  the  Colos- 
seum is  left  to  make  it  one  of  the  most  imposing  buildings  in 
the  world.  The  north  side  of  the  outer  wall  still  stands,  com- 
prising the  arches  numbered  XXIII  to  LIV,  with  that  part  of 
the  building  which  is  between  it  and  the  inner  wall  supporting 
the  colonnade  (p.  331).  Of  that  part  of  the  building  between 
this  inner  wall  and  the  arena,  practically  the  whole  skeleton 
remains, — that  is,  the  encircling  and  radiating  walls  on  which 
the  cavea  with  its  marble  seats  rested.  These  marble  seats, 
and  everything  in  the  nature  of  decoration,  have  long  since 
disappeared. 

The  amphitheatre *  is  elliptical  in  form.  Its  main  axis,  run- 
ning northwest-southeast,  is  188  metres  in  length,  and  its 
minor  axis  156.  The  whole  exterior  is  constructed  of  large 
blocks  of  travertine ;  the  inner  walls  are  of  concrete,  with  and 
without  brick  facing,  strengthened  by  piers  of  peperino  and 
travertine  at  the  points  of  greatest  pressure.  The  general 
plan  of  the  building  may  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the  cross-section 
(Fig.  71).  The  outer  wall,  or  faqade,  is  48.50  metres  high,  and 
stands  upon  a  stylobate,  which  is  raised  two  steps  above  a 
pavement  of  travertine.  This  is  17.50  metres  wide,  and 
extended  round  the  whole  building.  Its  outer  edge  is  marked 
by  a  row  of  stone  cippi  —  some  of  which  are  in  situ  —  pro- 
vided with  bronze  rings  through  which  wooden  bars  were  run, 
to  serve  the  purpose  of  a  fence.  The  outer  wall  itself  is 
divided  into  four  stories,  of  which  the  lower  three  consist  of 
rows  of  open  arcades.  The  arches  of  the  lower  arcade  are  7.05 

1  For  plates  and  description,  see  Beschreibung  der  Stadt  Rom,  iii.  1.  319- 
336;  Canina,  Ediflzi  di  Roma  antica,  iv.  164-177;  Reber,  Die  Ruinen  Roms, 
407-421 ;  Cresy-Taylor,  Architectural  Antiquities  of  Rome,  London,  1874,  114- 
129;  Dreger,  Das  ftavische  Amphitheater  in  seiner  ersten  Gestalt,  Allgemeine 
Bauzeitung,  1896,  40-60.  For  restorations,  see  Knapp  in  Beschreibung  der 
Stadt  Rom,  Bilderheft,  2  (the  better),  and  Uggieri,  Giornate  pittoriche  degli 
Ediflzi  di  Roma,  xxiii.  (1816) ;  Mitt.  1897,  334. 


330 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


metres  high  and  4.20  wide  ;  the  pillars  between  them  are  2.40 
metres  wide  and  2.70  deep.  In  front  of  these  pillars  are 
engaged  columns  of  the  Doric  order,  which  support  an  entabla- 
ture 2.35  metres  high,  but  without  the  distinguishing  characteris- 
tics of  this  order.  There  were  eighty  arches  in  the  lower  arcade, 
of  which  the  four  at  the  ends  of  the  two  axes  formed  the  main 
entrances  to  the  amphitheatre,  and  were  unnumbered.  The 
remaining  seventy-six  were  numbered,  the  numbers  being  cut 


FIG.  71.  —  SECTION  OF  THE  COLOSSEUM. 

on  ^he  facade  just  beneath  the  architrave.  Above  the  entabla- 
ture is  an  attic  of  the  same  height,  with  projections  above  the 
columns,  which  serve  as  pedestals  for  the  engaged  columns  of 
the  second  arcade.  This  arcade  has  the  same  dimensions  as  the 
lowest,  except  that  the  arches  are  only  6.45  metres  high.  The 
half-columns  are  of  the  Ionic  order,  and  in  turn  support  an 
entablature  2.10  metres  in  height,  but  not  in  perfect  Ionic 
style.  Above  this  is  a  second  attic,  1.95  metres  high,  on  which 
the  columns  of  the  third  arcade  rest.  This  last  is  of  the 


THE   SACRA   VIA    AND   THE    VELIA.  331 

Corinthian  order,  and  its  arches  are  6.40  metres  high.  Above 
this  is  a  third  entablature  and  attic.  In  each  of  the  arches  of 
the  first  and  second  arcades  was  a  statue. 

The  three  lower  arcades  of  the  outer  wall  belong  to  the  orig- 
inal work  of  Vespasian  and  Titus.  Coins  of  the  latter  emperor, 
.  however,  show  a  fourth  story  as  already  existing  at  that  time, 
and  it  is  the  current  view  that  this  was  at  first  constructed  of 
wood,  and  not  replaced  by  stone  until  the  third  century.  The 
existing  upper  division  of  the  facade  dates  from  this  later 
period. 

The  attic  above  the  third  arcade  is  2.10  metres  high,  and  is 
pierced  by  small  rectangular  windows  over  every  second  arch. 
On  it  rests  the  upper  division  of  the  wall.  This  is  solid,  and 
is  adorned  with  flat  Corinthian  pilasters  in  place  of  the  half- 
columns  of  the  lower  arcades.  Above  these  pilasters  is  an 
entablature,  and  between  every  second  pair  of  pilasters  is  a 
window  cut  through  the  wall.  Above  these  openings  is  a  row 
of  consoles,  —  three  between  each  pair  of  pilasters.  In  these 
consoles  are  sockets  for  the  masts  which  projected  upward 
through  corresponding  holes  in  the  cornice  and  perhaps  sup- 
ported the  awnings  (velaria)  that  protected  the  cavea. 

Within  this  outer  wall,  at  a  distance  of  5.80  metres,  is  a 
second  wall  with  corresponding  arches ;  and  4.50  metres  inside 
of  this  a  third,  which  divides  the  building  into  two  main  sec- 
tions. On  the  lower  floor,  between  these  three  walls,  are  two 
lofty  arched  corridors  or  ambulatories,  encircling  the  entire 
building;  on  the  second  floor,  two  corridors  like  those  below, 
except  that  the  inner  one  is  itself  divided  into  two,  an  upper 
and  a  lower ;  and  on  the  third  floor  two  more.  In  the  inner 
corridor  on  the  second  floor,  and  in  both  on  the  third,  are 
flights  of  steps  very  ingeniously  arranged,  which  lead  to  the 
topmost  story,  and  afford  access  to  the  upper  part  of  the  second 
tier  of  seats. 

Within  the  innermost  of  the  three  walls  just  mentioned  are 
other  walls  parallel  to  it,  and  radiating  walls,  struck  from  cer- 


332  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

tain  points  within  the  oval  and  perpendicular  to  its  circum- 
ference. These  radiating  walls  correspond  in  number  to  the 
piers  of  the  lower  arcade,  and  are  divided  into  three  parts,  so 
as  to  leave  room  for  two  more  corridors  round  the  building. 
This  system  of  radiating  walls  supported  the  sloping  floor 
(cavea)  on  which  the  rows  of  marble  seats  (gradus)  were 
placed.  Underneath,  in  corridors  and  arches,  are  other  flights 
of  steps  which  lead  to  all  parts  of  the  cavea,  through  openings 
called  vomitoria. 

The  arena  is  itself  elliptical,  the  major  axis  being  86  metres 
long  and  the  minor  54.  All  round  the  arena  was  a  wall, 
built  to  protect  the  spectators  from  the  attacks  of  the  wild 
beasts,  and  behind  it  a  narrow  passage  paved  with  marble. 
Behind  this  passage  was  the  podium,  a  platform  raised  about 
4  metres  above  the  arena,  on  which  were  three  rows  of  marble 
seats  for  the  emperor  and  his  family,  ambassadors,  and  high 
officials  of  state.  The  names  of  the  corporations  or  officials  to 
whom  these  chairs  belonged  were  inscribed  on  the  steps  or 
pavement  of  the  podium.  When  a  seat  passed  from  one  owner 
to  another,  the  old  name  was  erased  and  a  new  one  substituted. 
More  than  two  hundred  such  inscriptions  have  been  found.1 
In  the  fourth  century  these  seats  began  to  be  assigned  to 
families  and  individuals.  Some  of  these  marble  seats  have 
been  preserved,  having  been  converted  into  bishops'  thrones  in 
the  Roman  churches,  as  in  S.  Stefano  Kotondo  and  S.  Gregorio. 
The  front  of  the  podium  was  protected  by  a  brass  balustrade. 

From  the  podium,  the  cavea  sloped  upward  as  far  as  the 
innermost  of  the  three  walls  described  above.  It  was  divided 
into  sections  (maeniana)  by  aisles  and  low  walls  (praecinctiones)  j 
the  lower  section  (maenianum  primum)  contained  about  twenty 
rows  of  seats  (gradus)  and  the  upper  section  (maenianum 
secundum,  further  subdivided  into  maenianum  superius  and 
inferius)  about  sixteen.  These  maeniana  were  also  divided 

l  B  C.  1880,  211-282. 


THE  SACRA  VIA  AND  tflE  VfcLIA.  333 

into  cunei,  or  wedged-shaped  sections,  by  the  steps  and  aisles 
from  the  vomitoria.  Each  individual  seat  was  exactly  desig- 
nated by  its  gradus,  cuneus,  and  number.  These  seats  were 
assigned  according  to  wealth  and  rank,  and  by  the  famous 
lex  Roscia  of  67  B.C.,  which  was  revived  by  Domitian,  the 
first  fourteen  rows  were  reserved  for  the  equites.  Behind  the 
maenianum  secundum  the  wall  rose  to  a  height  of  5  metres 
above  the  cavea,  and  was  pierced  with  doors  and  windows 
which  afforded  communication  with  the  corridor  behind.  On 
this  wall  was  a  Corinthian  colonnade,  which,  together  with  the 
outer  wall,  supported  a  flat  roof.  The  columns  were  of  cipol- 
lino  and  granite,  and  dated  from  the  Flavian  period.  Behind 
them,  protected  by  the  roof,  was  the  siimmum  maenianum  in 
ligneis,  which  contained  wooden  seats  for  women.  On  the  roof 
was  standing  room  for  the  pullati,  or  poorest  classes  of  the 
population.  It  is  probable  that  this  upper  part  was  built 
entirely  of  wood  until  the  third  century. 

Of  the  four  principal  entrances,  those  at  the  north  and  south 
ends  of  the  minor  axis  were  for  the  imperial  family,  and  the 
arches  here  were  wider  and  more  highly  ornamented  than  the 
rest.  The  entrance *  on  the  north  seems  to  have  been  connected 
with  the  Esquiline  by  a  porticus.  A  wide  passage  led  directly 
from  this  entrance  to  the  imperial  box  (pulvinar)  on  the  po- 
dium. A  corresponding  box  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  podium 
was  probably  reserved  for  the  praefectus  urbi.  The  entrances 
at  the  ends  of  the  major  axis  led  directly  into  the  arena. 

The  floor  of  the  arena  rested  on  lofty  substructures,  consist- 
ing of  walls,  some  of  which  follow  the  elliptical  curve  of  the 
building,  while  others  are  parallel  to  the  major  axis.  The  east 
half  of  the  arena  has  been  excavated  so  that  these  substruc- 
tures are  visible.  They  are  entered  by  four  subterranean  pas- 
sages, on  the  lines  of  the  major  and  minor  axes.  Commodus 


1  For  16th  century  drawings  of  the  decoration  of  this  entrance  see  Wiener 
Studien,  1902,  437-440. 


334  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

constructed  another  subterranean  passage,  a  sort  of  crypto- 
porticus,  which  starts  a  little  to  the  east  of  the  state  entrance 
on  the  south  side,  and  leads  to  the  buildings  of  Claudius  on 
the  Caelian.  This  was  for  his  own  use,  when  he  visited  the 
amphitheatre.  In  the  substructures  are  traces  of  dens  for 
wild  beasts,  elevators,  and  mechanical  appliances  of  various 
sorts,  but  their  principal  object  must  have  been  to  provide 
for  the  drainage  of  the  water,  which  flows  so  abundantly  into 
this  hollow,  and  which  was  carried  off  in  a  sewer l  connecting 
with  that  beneath  the  modern  via  di  S.  Gregorio  (p.  322). 
The  masonry  of  these  substructures  dates  all  the  way  from  the 
first  century  to  the  end  of  the  fifth. 

The  total  seating  capacity  of  the  Colosseum  was  probably 
from  forty  to  forty-five  thousand,  and  there  was  standing  room 
on  the  roof  for  some  five  thousand  more.2 

Near  the  amphitheatre  were  several  other  buildings,  used  for 
purposes  connected  with  the  sports  in  the  arena.  Among  them 
were  four  training  schools  for  gladiators,  the  Indus  Magnus, 
Indus  Dacicus,  Indus  G-allicus,  and  Indus  Matutinus.  The  first  two, 
in  region  III,  are  spoken  of  on  pp.  450  f.  The  ludus  Gallicus  3 
was  a  training  school  for  Gallic  gladiators ;  but  the  name 
ludus  Matutinus 4  has  not  been  satisfactorily  explained.  Both 
of  these  schools  were  in  region  II,  as  well  as  the  Arma- 
mentarium or  armory,  and  the  Samiarium,5  apparently  a  place 
for  the  repairing  and  sharpening  of  weapons.  The  Snmmnm 
Ohoragium,6  or  storehouse  for  stage  settings  and  scenery,  was  in 
region  III,  as  was  also  the  Spoliarium r  where  the  bodies  of  dead 
gladiators  were  exposed  to  view.  All  these  annexes  were 
probably  built  by  Domitian,  when  he  completed  the  amphi- 
theatre itself. 


1  For  the  sewerage  system  of  the  Colosseum,  see  Narducci,  Sulla  Fogna- 
tura  della  Citta  di  Roma,  65-72. 

a  BC.  1894,  312-324.  *  CIL.  vi.  9470. 

*  CIL.  vi.  352,  10172;  Jordan,  I.  3.  299.       6  CIL.  vi.  10164;  Jordan,  II.  18. 

6  Jordan,  FUR.  7;  CIL.  vi.  776,  10083-10087.     1  Lamprid.  Vit.  Com.  18,  19. 


THE   SACRA   VIA  AND  THE   VELIA.  335 

Nero  erected  a  colossal  bronze  statue  of  himself  (Colossus 
Neronis),  31.5  metres  high,  in  the  vestibule  of  the  domus  Aurea 
on  the  summit  of  the  Velia.1  This  statue  was  the  work  of 
a  Greek,  Zenodorus.  It  was  changed  by  Vespasian2  into  a 
statue  of  the  sun.  Hadrian3  moved  it  nearer  to  the  Colosseum, 
in  order  to  make  room  for  the  temple  of  Venus  and  Koma. 
This  removal  was  effected  without  taking  the  statue  down. 
Commodus 4  converted  it  into  a  statue  of  Hercules  ;  but  at  his 
death  it  was  restored  as  the  sun,  and  so  remained.  The  last 
mention  of  this  statue  in  antiquity  is  in  the  fourth  century.5 
Part  of  the  pedestal  which  was  built  by  Hadrian  still  exists, 
between  the  Colosseum  and  the  temple  of  Venus  and  Roma. 
This  pedestal  is  7  metres  square,  and  is  constructed  of  brick- 
faced  concrete,  originally  covered  with  marble. 

Just  south  of  the  Colossus  was  the  Meta  Sudans,6  a  great 
fountain  said  to  have  been  built  by  Domitian  in  97  A.D.  In 
shape  it  resembled  a  goal  (meta),  and  sudans  described  the 
appearance  of  the  jets  and  streams  of  water.  It  stood  at  the 
point  of  meeting  of  five  regions,  I,  II,  III,  IV,  and  X.  The 
core  still  stands,  conical  in  shape,  9  metres  high  and  5  metres 
in  diameter  at  the  bottom.  Around  its  base  is  a  great  basin, 
which  probably  dates  from  the  time  of  Constantine.  The 
whole  fountain  was  originally  covered  with  marble. 

Basilica  Constantini.  —  This  great  building,  also  called  the 
basilica  Nova,  was  begun  by  Maxentius,  but  completed  by 
Constantine.7  It  was  erected  on  the  north  side  of  the  Sacra 
via,  partly  on  the  site  of  the  horrea  Piperataria,  on  an  enor- 

1  Suet.  Nero,  31 ;  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  45 ;  Mart,  de  Spect.  2.  1 ;  i.  70.  7 ;  Dio 
Cass.  bcvi.  15;  Jordan,  I.  3.  320;  II.  510;  Gilbert,  III.  195. 

2  Suet.  Vesp.  18.  8  Spart.  Vit.  Hadr.  19. 

*  Lamprid.  Vit.  Com.  17  ;  Dio  Cass.  Ixxii.  22.        «  Not.  Reg.  iv. 

•  Chronogr.  a. 354,  p.  146 ;  Sen.  Epist.  56.  4 ;  Cohen,  Titus,  163, 184  ;  Jordan, 
I.  3.  24-25. 

i  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  146;  Viet.  Goes.  40. 26;  Melanges,  1893, 161-167;  Mitt. 
1892,  289 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  11-14.  See  Forum  Plan. 


336  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

mous  rectangular  platform  of  concrete,  100  metres  long  and  65 
wide.  The  basilica  itself  was  of  peculiar  form,  consisting  of  a 
central  nave,  80  metres  long,  25  wide,  and  35  high,  and  two 
side  aisles,  each  16  metres  wide.  These  aisles  were  divided 
into  three  sections  by  walls,  pierced  by  wide  arches  and  end- 
ing on  each  side  of  the  nave  in  massive  piers.  In  front  of 
these  piers  and  at  the  corners  of  the  nave  were  eight  mono- 
lithic columns  of  marble.  On  these  piers  rested  the  roof  of  the 
nave,  divided  into  three  bays  with  quadripartite  groining. 

The  fagade  of  the  basilica  as  built  by  Maxentius  was  toward 
the  east,  and  at  this  end  was  a  corridor  or  vestibule,  8  metres 
deep,  which  extended  across  the  whole  width  of  the  building. 
From  this  vestibule  there  were  five  entrances  into  the  basilica, 
three  into  the  nave,  and  one  into  each  of  the  aisles.  A  flight 
of  steps  led  up  from  the  street  in  front  to  the  vestibule,  which 
was  adorned  with  columns.  At  the  west  end  of  the  nave  was 
a  semicircular  apse,  20  metres  in  diameter. 

Constantine  constructed  a  second  entrance  from  the  Sacra 
via  in  the  middle  of  the  south  side,  where  he  built  a  porch 
with  porphyry  columns  and  a  long  flight  of  steps.  Opposite 
this  new  entrance  he  constructed  a  second  semicircular  apse 
in  the  north  wall,  as  large  as  that  at  the  west  end  of  the  nave. 
Thenceforth  the  basilica  produced  the  same  impression  —  of 
three  parallel  halls  —  whether  one  entered  it  from  the  south 
or  from  the  east. 

The  material  employed  in  the  whole  structure  was  brick  and 
concrete,  and  the  great  thickness  of  the  walls  —  6  metres  at 
one  point  at  the  west  end  —  and  the  enormous  height  and  span 
of  the  vaulted  roof,  made  it  one  of  the  most  remarkable  build- 
ings in  Rome. 

Besides  the  foundation,  which  has  been  almost  wholly  un- 
covered, the  north  wall  and  the  north  aisle  —  or,  as  it  rather 
appears,  the  north  sections  of  the  three  halls  regarded  as  run- 
ning north  and  south  —  are  still  standing.  The  semicircular 
apse  in  the  central  hall  contains  sixteen  rectangular  niches  in 


THE   SACRA   VIA   AND  THE   VELIA.  337 

two  rows,  with  a  pedestal  or  suggestus  in  the  centre.  A  marble 
seat  with  steps  runs  round  the  apse,  which  was  separated  from 
the  rest  of  the  hall  by  two  columns  and  marble  screens,  thus 
forming  a  sort  of  tribunal  for  the  emperor  when  holding  court. 

All  of  the  monolithic  marble  columns  of  the  nave  have  been 
destroyed  except  one,  which  was  removed  by  Paul  V  in  1613 
to  the  piazza  di  S.  Maria  Maggiore,  where  it  now  stands.  This 
column,  with  base  and  capital,  measures  19.25  metres  in  height. 
The  vaulted  roof  of  the  basilica  is  constructed  with  deep  hex- 
agonal and  octagonal  coffers.  »  Some  very  large  fragments  of 
the  roof,  which  have  fallen  down  within  comparatively  recent 
years,  lie  on  the  floor.  Nothing  of  the  nave  remains  except  the 
bases  of  the  great  piers.  The  core  of  the  porch  and  of  the 
flight  of  steps  leading  down  to  the  Sacra  via  is  still  visible,  and 
several  fragments  of  the  porphyry  columns  have  been  set  up, 
but  not  in  situ.  Of  the  pavement  of  slabs  of  marble  consider- 
able fragments 1  have  been  found.  The  building,  resembling  a 
loggia,  which  projects  over  the  line  of  the  Sacra  via  at  the  west 
end  of  the  basilica,  is  medieval. 

The  northwest  corner  of  the  basilica  joined  the  wall  of  the 
forum  of  Vespasian,  thereby  cutting  off  the  previously  exist- 
ing thoroughfare  between  the  forum  Romanum  and  the  district 
of  the  Carinae.  Maxentius  therefore  constructed  a  passage- 
way under  the  northwest  corner  of  the  building,  about  4  metres 
wide  and  15  long.  In  the  sixth  century  one  end  of  this  pas- 
sage was  walled  up,  but  the  interrupted  communication  was 
afterward  restored.  In  the  middle  ages  this  passage  was 
known  as  the  arco  di  Latrone,  from  its  dangerous  associations. 

Just  west  of  the  basilica  of  Constantine,  on  the  Sacra  via,  is 
the  Heroon  Eomuli,  or  temple  of  Romulus,  which  was  begun  by 
Maxentius  in  honor  of  his  son  Romulus,  who,  having  died  at 
an  early  age,  had  been  deified.2  The  temple  was  finished  by 

1  Mitt.  1905, 117. 

2  OIL.  vi.  1147;  Bull.  Crist.  1867,  66-69;   BC.  1882,  29-54;  Jordan,  I.  3. 
10-11. 


338  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

Constantine.  It  adjoined  the  templum  Sacrae  Urbis  in  the 
rear,  and  with  this  latter  edifice  was  converted  into  the  church 
of  SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano  in  the  sixth  century.  The  original 
structure,  which  has  been  almost  completely  preserved,  con- 
sists of  a  central  circular  hall  17  metres  in  diameter,  and  on 
each  side  a  narrow  rectangular  hall,  terminating  in  an  apse  at 
the  rear.  These  halls  open  toward  the  Sacra  via,  and  the 
doorways  of  the  smaller  rooms  are  flanked  with  cipollino 
columns,  two  of  which  are  still  standing.  In  front  of  the  cir- 
cular hall  is  a  sort  of  curved  porch,  and  the  main  entrance  is 
flanked  by  columns  of  red  porphyry.  The  original  bronze  doors 
are  still  in  place,  and  above  them  is  a  richly  decorated  archi- 
trave of  white  marble,  which  belonged  to  another  building.  The 
temple  is  built  of  concrete  with  brick  and  tufa  facing,  but 
nothing  remains  of  the  marble  and  stucco  lining. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
THE   CAMPUS   MARTITJS. 

THE  term  campus  Martins  was  used  at  different  times  with  some- 
what varying  signification.  In  its  widest  sense  it  embraced  the 
district  outside  the  Servian  wall  between  the  Capitoline,  the 
Quirinal,  and  the  Pincian  hills,  and  the  Tiber.  This  is  a  level 
plain,  extending  a  little  more  than  2  kilometres  from  the  Capi- 
toline to  the  porta  Flaminia,  and  being  nearly  2  kilometres  wide 
in  its  widest  part  between  the  Quirinal  and  the  river.  As  early 
as  the  fifth  century  B.C.  the  south  portion  of  this  district  was 
probably  known  as  the  prata  Flaminia,1  and  campus  Martius  was 
the  ordinary  designation  for  what  lay  beyond.  After  Augustus 
had  divided  the  city  into  fourteen  regions,  the  name  campus 
Martius  was  restricted  to  that  portion  of  region  IX  (circus 
Flaminius)  which  was  west  of  the  via  Lata,  the  modern  Corso, 
and  here  again  there  seems  to  have  been  a  further  distinction. 
A  cippus2  found  in  the  via  del  Seminario,  near  the  Pantheon, 
proves  that  this  campus  Martius  of  the  time  of  Augustus  was 
divided  into  two  parts,  —  the  open  meadow  to  the  north,  and 
the  district  between  the  cippus  and  the  circus  Flaminius,  which 
had  been  more  or  less  built  over.  A  little  later  this  line  of 
separation  was  marked  by  a  street3  running  west  from  the 
modern  piazza  Colonna  to  the  Tiber.  The  original  pavement 
of  this  street  has  been  uncovered  for  most  of  this  distance,  and 
its  line  corresponds  in  general  with  the  modern  via  di  S.  Agos- 
tino  and  via  dei  Coronari. 

i  Liv.  iii.  54,  63;  Gilbert,  III.  66-69;  Jordan,  I.  3.  484.          «  OIL.  vi.  874. 

8  This  street  is  called  by  Lanciani,  following  the  earlier  topographers,  the 
via  Recta,  but  this  is  based  on  a  probable  misreading  for  via  tecta  in  Sen. 
Apoc.  13.  Cf.  p.  377,  and  Jordan,  I.  3.  503. 

339 


340  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

There  were  several  swamps  or  ponds  in  this  low-lying  dis- 
trict, as  well  as  streams,  the  largest  of  which,  the  Petronia 
amnis,  came  from  a  spring  on  the  Quirinal,  called  the  Oati  fons 
(p.  19),  and  flowed  into  the  largest  swamp,  the  palus  Oaprae, 
or  Oapreae,1  where  were  afterward  the  pool  and  baths  of 
Agrippa.  In  the  northwest  part  of  the  campus  Martius,  near 
the  great  bend  in  the  river,  there  were  hot  springs,  probably 
sulphurous,  and  other  traces  of  volcanic  action.  This  part 
was  called  the  Tarentum 2  and  perhaps  campus  Ignifer.3 

The  name  campus  Martius  was  derived  from  an  ancient  altar 
of  Mars,4  ascribed  by  tradition  to  Romulus,  which  probably 
stood  east  of  the  Pantheon  near  the  via  del  Seminario.  The 
whole  district  belonged  to  the  community,5  part  of  it  being  cul- 
tivated as  domain  land.  We  are  told  that  Sulla,6  under  the 
financial  pressure  of  the  impending  war  with  Mithridates,  was 
the  first  to  sell  to  private  owners  any  part  of  this  public  do- 
main; but  the  very  name,  prata  Flaminia,  which  is  quoted  as 
early  as  449  B.C.,  seems  to  indicate  some  private  ownership  at  a 
very  early  date.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  these  prata  had 
become  public  property  but  retained  their  original  name.  The 
campus  Martius  was  entirely  outside  of  the  pomerium  during 
the  republic  and  probably  down  to  the  reign  of  Claudius  (p.  69). 
By  the  time  of  Hadrian  the  pomerium  had  been  extended  so  as 
to  include  the  prata  Flaminia ;  but  the  campus  Martius  in  its 
narrower  sense  was  not  included  until  the  wall  of  Aurelian 
was  built.  Because  it  was  public  domain  and  outside  the 
pomerium,  the  campus  was  used  as  the  place  of  assembly 7  for 
the  citizens,  in  their  military  capacity  as  an  army  and  in  their 


1  Liv.  i.  16 ;  Ov.  Fast.  ii.  491 ;  Gilbert,  I.  290-291 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  473-474. 

2  Fest.  329,  350.  8  Zos.  ii.  3 :  irvpo^opov  neSiov. 

*  Liv.  ii.  5;  Dionys.  v.13;  Plut.  Popl.  8;  Schol.  Juv.  ii.  132;  Liv.  xxxv.  10; 
xl.  45;  Ov.  Fast.  ii.  860;  Fest.  189;  Gilbert,  I.  289;  Jordan,  I.  3.  475-477;  CP. 
1908,  65-73. 

6  Gilbert,  III.  6-7,  67-68. 

e  Oros.  v.  18.  i  Liv.  i.  44 ;  Dionys.  iv.  22 ;  Gell.  xv.  27. 


THE   CAMPUS  MARTIUS.  341 

civil  capacity  as  the  comitia  centuriata.  Audience  was  given 
here  by  the  senate  to  foreign  ambassadors  who  could  not  enter 
the  city,  and  foreign  cults  were  allowed  to  be  domiciled  in 
temples  erected  here.  Finally  public  buildings  of  all  sorts 
were  built  in  the  south  half  of  the  campus,  while  private 
houses  did  not  begin  to  multiply  to  any  extent  before  the  time 
of  the  empire.1 

Besides  those  already  mentioned,  other  parts  of  this  exten- 
sive district  bore  distinctive  names.  The  forum  Holitorium,  or 
vegetable  market,  was  just  outside  the  Servian  wall,  close  to 
the  Tiber.  Between  the  modern  ponte  Garibaldi  and  the 
theatre  of  Pompeius  was  a  grove  called  the  Aesculetum,2  where 
the  comitia  met  in  287  B.C.  to  pass  the  famous  Hortensian  laws. 
Fragments  of  the  pavement  of  the  vicus  Aescleti  have  been 
found  in  the  modern  via  della  Eegola  di  S.  Bartolommeo. 
The  suburb  that  in  process  of  time  extended  from  the  porta 
Flumentana  along  the  bank  of  the  river  to  the  Navalia,  was 
known  as  extra  portam  Flumentanam  ; 3  and  within  the  limits  of 
this  precinct  there  had  been,  as  late  as  342  B.C.,  a  grove  called 
the  lucus  Petelinus.4  Another  suburb,  the  Aemiliana,5  is  more 
difficult  to  locate  with  certainty,  but  it  was  perhaps  the  district 
between  the  porta  Fontinalis  and  the  Saepta  lulia.  The 
Trigarmm, 6  where  horses  were  exercised,  was  in  the  northwest 
part  of  the  campus,  between  the  modern  piazza  Navona  and 
the  Tiber.  Just  east  of  this  Trigarium  was  probably  the  place 
where  chariot  races,  equiria,7  were  held  in  honor  of  Mars.  On 

1  Cic.  ad  Alt.  xiii.  33.    For  the  history  of  the  campus  Man  ins  see  Jordan, 
I.  3.  493-506. 

2  Varro,  LL.  v.  152 ;  PI.  NH.  xvi.  37 ;  Milt.  1889,  265-267 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  479, 
521. 

«  Varro,  RR.  iii.  2.  6;  Liv.  vi.  20. 

*  Plut.  Camil.  36;  Liv.  vii.  41 ;  BC.  1905,  222-223. 

5  Varro,  loc.  tit.;  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  40;  Suet.  Claud.  18;  Gilbert,  III.  378; 
Jordan,  I.  3.  490. 

«  PI.  NH.  xxviii.  238 ;  xxix.  9;  OIL.  vi.  31545. 

7  Fest.  Epit.  81 ;  Varro,  LL.  vi.  13;  Ov.  Fast.  ii.  860;  iii.  519;  Richter,  Top? 
223;  Gilbert,  II.  97;  CP.  1908,  70-71. 


342  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

the  bank  of  the  river,  not  far  south  of  the  mausoleum  of 
Augustus,  were  storehouses  for  wine ;  and,  to  judge  from  the 
somewhat  uncertain  evidence,  this  part  seems  to  have  been 
called  Oiconiae  nixae  or  Nixae,1  apparently  from  some  statue  or 
relief  representing  storks  with  crossed  bills. 

Besides  the  three  principal  streets  in  the  campus  Martius, 
—  the  via  Lata,  the  via  Tecta  (p.  377),  and  the  so-called  via 
Recta,  —  fragments  of  the  pavement  of  some  others  have  been 
found.2  One  of  them  ran  southwest  from  the  theatre  of 
Pompeius  to  the  river,  along  the  line  of  the  modern  via  dei 
Pettinari ;  another  ran  north  from  this  theatre  along  the  via 
dei  Sediari ;  a  third  extended  from  the  theatre  of  Balbus  to  a 
point  near  the  Tarentum,  where  it  joined  the  via  Tecta,  its 
course  being  nearly  that  of  the  via  S.  Paolina,  vicolo  dei  Venti, 
and  via  del  Montserrato.  The  pavement  of  a  fourth  lies  in  a 
line  between  the  via  degli  Astalli  and  the  Corso,  and  may  be 
that  of  the  vicus  Pallacinae,3  which  derived  its  name  from  the 
balineae  Pallacinae  near  the  circus  Maminius.  Another  stretch 
of  pavement  has  been  discovered  just  north  of  the  thermae 
Alexandrinae,  in  the  via  di  Eipetta ;  and  there  are  also  traces 
of  two  cross-streets  between  the  via  Flaminia  and  the  Tiber, 
one  north  (via  dei  Pontefici),  and  the  other  south  of  the 
mausoleum  of  Augustus.  In  216  B.C.  there  was  a  via  Fornicata, 
quae  ad  campum  erat,  but  this  street  is  mentioned  only  once.4 

The  Earliest  Structures.  —  If  the  ara  Martis  was  the  first  altar 
in  the  campus  Martius,  the  ara  Ditis  et  Proserpinae  in  Tarento  5  was 
undoubtedly  the  second.  The  springs  and  pool  of  the  Tarentum 

1  Not.  Reg.  ix;   OIL.  i2.  p.  332;  vi.  1785;   Gilbert,  I.  290;  Jordan,  I.  3.  601; 
CP.  1908,  70-71. 

2  Of.  Gilbert,  III.  378-379. 

8Cic.  pro  Rose.  Amer.  18,  132,  and  Schol. ;  Jordan,  II.  592-593;  Hermes, 
1867,  76;  PBS.  iii.  261;  BC.  1908,  280-282. 

4  Liv.  xxii.  36. 

5  Fest.  329.    Cf .  Val.  Max.  ii.  4.  5 ;   Serv.  in  Aen.  viii.  63;  Ov.  Fast.  i.  501 ; 
Mart.  x.  63.  3. 


THE   CAMPUS   MARTIUS.  343 

naturally  suggested  an  entrance  to  Hades,  and  hence  the  wor- 
ship of  the  gods  of  the  lower  world  was  established  at  this 
spot.  This  ara  Ditis  is  said  to  have  been  6  metres  beneath 
the  surface  of  the  ground.  Upon  it  were  offered  the  sacrifices 
at  the  ludi  Tarentini,  games  which  were  afterward  merged 
with  the  ludi  saeculares.  The  altar *  of  the  time  of  the  empire 
was  discovered  in  1886-1887,  behind  the  palazzo  Cesarini,  5 
metres  below  the  level  of  the  Covso  Vittorio  Emanuele.  Two 
blocks  of  the  altar  itself  were  found,  resting  upon  a  pedestal 
which  was  approached  by  three  steps.  The  altar  was  3.40 
metres  square.  Behind  it  was  a  massive  wall  of  tufa,  and 
round  it  a  triple  wall  of  peperino.  Not  far  away,  in  a  medi- 
eval wall,  were  found  large  portions  of  the  marble  slabs  con- 
taining the  inscriptions  which  record  the  celebration  of  the 
ludi  saeculares  by  Augustus  in  17  B.C.  and  by  Severus  in  204 
A.D.2  The  altar  is  not  visible,  but  the  inscription  is  in  the 
Museo  delle  Terrne. 

The  oldest  temples  in  this  district  were  those  dedicated  to 
Bellona  and  Apollo.  The  temple  of  Bellona3  was  vowed  by 
Appius  Claudius  Caecus  in  296  B.C.,  and  dedicated  somewhat 
later.  This  temple  is  mentioned  as  existing4  in  the  second 
century,  but  no  trace  of  it  has  been  found.  Its  location5  is 
uncertain,  but  from  it  Sulla6  heard  the  cries  of  the  prison- 
ers who  were  massacred  in  the  Villa  Publica  (p.  345).  It  is 
also  said  to  have  been  at  the  opposite  end 7  of  the  circus  Fla- 
minius  from  the  temple  of  Hercules  Gustos  (p.  347).  On  the 
whole  it  is  probable  that  it  was  near  the  southeast  end  of 
the  circus  Flaminius.  Considerable  importance  attached  to 

l  Mitt.  1891,  127-129;  BC.  1887,  276-277;  Man.  d.  Lincei,  i.  540-^548. 

«  NS.  1890,  285;  EG.  1896,  191-230;  EE.  viii.  225-309 ;  OIL.  vi.  32323-32337. 

8  PI.  NH.  xxxv.  12  (where  the  reference  to  the  Appius  Claudius  of  495  B.C. 
is  now  regarded  as  an  interpolation.  Wissowa,  Religion  der  Riimer,  137) ; 
Liv.  x.  19;  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  203. 

4  Dio  Cass.  Ixxi.  33. 

8  Jordan,  I.  3. 552-554 ;  Richter,  Top*  215 ;  Gilbert,  III.  75. 

«  Plut.  Sulla,  30.  J  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  209. 


344  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

this  temple  during  the  republic,  as  it  was  used  for  sessions 
of  the  senate  at  which  victorious  generals  presented  their 
claims  for  a  triumph.1  This  could  not  be  done  within  the 
pomerium.  Near  the  temple  was  a  senaculum,  or  place 
of  assembly  for  the  senators,  and  a  small  area  which  a 
soldier  of  Pyrrhus  had  been  forced  to  buy  in  order  that  it 
might  represent  foreign  soil.  In  this  area  was  the  so-called 
columna  bellica,2  representing  a  boundary  stone,  over  which 
the  fetialis  cast  his  spear  when  declaring  war  in  due  form 
against  a  foreign  foe.  The  aedes  Bellonae  Pulvinensis  mentioned 
in  inscriptions,3  was  a  temple  of  the  Cappadocian  goddess, 
Ma-Bellona,  whose  worship  seems  to  have  displaced  that  of  the 
Latin  Bellona  during  the  empire.  This  temple  was  probably 
not  built  before  the  third  century,  and  its  location  is  unknown. 
Any  connection  with  a  supposed  pulvinar  of  the  circus  Flaminius 
is  unfounded. 

The  earliest  worship  of  Apollo  in  Rome  was  connected 
with  the  Apollinare,4  an  altar  or  grove  that  was  situated  just 
west  of  the  Capitolium,  between  it  and  the  porticus  Octaviae. 
On  this  spot  a  temple  was  built  in  431  B.C.,S  which  had  been 
vowed  two  years  before  in  consequence  of  a  plague.  This 
was  the  only  temple  of  Apollo  in  Home  until  Augustus 
erected  that  on  the  Palatine.6  It  was  restored  in  32  B.C./ 
and  possibly 8  much  earlier,  in  353  B.C.  Portions  of  the  founda- 
tion wall  of  opus  quadratum  have  been  found  beneath  the  houses 
on  the  south  side  of  the  piazza  Campitelli,  and  a  few  fragments 
of  the  entablature  with  reliefs.9  This  temple  was  frequently 

*  Fest.  347 ;  Liv.  xxvi.  21,  and  freq.;  cf.  Richter,  Top?  215. 
«  Serv.  in  Aen.  ix.  52;  Fest.  Epit.  33;  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  205-209  ;  Dio  Cass.  1.  4; 
Ixxi.  33. 

8  GIL.  vi.490,  2232-2235;  Jordan,  1.3.554;  Wissowa,  Religion  der  Romer, 
291. 

4  Liv.  iii.  63.  s  Liv.  iv.  25,  29.  6  Asc.  in  Or.  m  Tog.  Cand.  115. 

7  PI.  NH.  xiii.  53;  xxxvi.  28.  «  Liv.  vii.  20. 

9  Bull.  d.  1st.  1878,  218;  B(J.  1893,  46-60;  Delbrutk,  Der  Apollotempel  auf 
dem  Marsfelde  in  Rom,  Rome,  1903. 


THE   CAMPUS  MARTIUS.  345 

used  for  extra-pomerial  sessions  of  the  senate,1  and  it  con- 
tained many  works  of  art,  among  them  the  famous  Niobe 
group,  and  treasures  of  various  kinds.2  There  was  also  a 
shrine  of  the  goddess  Feronia3  in  the  campus  Martins, 
which  probably  antedated  the  Punic  wars ;  and  a  Incus  Fe- 
roniae  is  vouched  for  by  an  inscription4  recently  found,  but 
we  know  nothing  of  its  location. 

Not  far  from  the  ara  Martis,  and  just  north  of  the  modern 
piazza  del  Gesu,  was  the  Villa  Publica,5  which  was  said  to  have 
been  built  in  435  B.C.  It  was  the  only  public  building  in  the 
campus  Martins  proper  before  the  end  of  the  republic.  Al- 
though no  remains  have  been  found,  its  approximate  position 
is  certain.6  It  consisted  of  a  walled  inclosure,  within  which  was 
a  square  building,  represented  on  a  coin 7  of  the  end  of  the 
republic  as  having  two  stories,  the  lower  one  opening  outward 
with  a  row  of  arches.  It  served  as  the  headquarters  for  state 
officials  when  engaged  in  taking  the  census  or  levying  troops.8 
Foreign  ambassadors  and  generals  who  desired  a  triumph  were 
also  lodged  here.9  The  Villa  was  restored  in  194  B.C.,10  and 
probably  again  in  34  by  P.  Fonteius  Capito.  If,  as  seems 
probable,11  it  is  represented  on  some  fragments  of  the  Mar- 
ble Plan,  it  existed  as  late  as  the  second  century,  although 
much  reduced  in  size,  and  simply  as  a  monument  of  antiq- 
uity. Within  the  walls  of  the  Villa,  in  82  B.C.,  Sulla12  mas- 
sacred the  four  thousand  prisoners  taken  in  the  battle  of  the 
Colline  gate.  Adjoining  the  building  was  the  inclosed  area, 
called  the  Saepta,13  where  the  comitia  centuriata  assembled  to 

i  Liv.  xxxiv.  43  and  freq. ;  Cic.  ad  Q.  Fr.  ii.  3. 

*  PI.  NH.  xxxv.  99;  xxxvi.  34. 

*  Wissowa,  op.  cit.  231 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  483  ;  OIL.  P.  p.  335. 

*  NS.  1905,  15.  6  Liv.  iv.  22;  Gilbert,  III.  144-145. 

6  Varro,  RR.  iii.  2 ;  Plut.  Sulla,  30 ;  cf .  Berl.  Phil.  Wochenschrift,  1903,  575. 

7  Babeloti,  Monnaies,  Fonteia,  18.  8  Varro,  loc.  cit. 
»  Liv.  xxx.  21 ;  xxxiii.  24.                           w  Liv.  xxxiv.  44. 

«  Mitt.  1903,  47-18.  "  Liv.  Epit.  88 ;  Val.  Max.  ix.  2.  1. 

w  Liv.  xxvi.  22 ;  Juv.  vi.  539;  Serv.  ad  Ed.  i.  33. 


346  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

vote.  The  division  of  this  inclosure  into  smaller  sections,  for 
tribes  and  centuries,  caused  it  to  resemble  a  sheepfold,  and 
hence  it  was  often  called  Ovile. 

Near  the  Villa  Publica  stood  the  porta  Triumphalis,1  an  arched 
gateway,  which  took  its  name  from  the  fact  that  the  general 
who  was  celebrating  a  triumph  began  his  march  into  the  city 
at  this  point.  We  are  not  informed  as  to  the  date  of  its  erec- 
tion, but  it  was  probably  as  early  as  the  second  century  B.C. 
No  vestiges  of  this  arch  have  been  found.  Domitian2  either 
built  a  second  triumphal  arch  in  this  immediate  neighborhood, 
or  restored  the  existing  porta  Triumphalis. 

The  forum  Holitorium,  forming  as  it  did  an  almost  totally 
distinct  section  of  the  campus  Martins,  will  be  described  on 
pp.  389-392,  and  the  remaining  buildings  of  region  IX  will  be 
taken  up  by  groups,  in  chronological  order. 

Temples.  —  (1)  The  temple  of  Tons.  In  231  B.C.  Cn.  Papirius 
Maso3  dedicated  a  temple  to  Fons  from  the,  booty  that  he  had 
taken  in  Corsica.  This  was  undoubtedly  near  the  porta 
Fontinalis,  and  therefore  near  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
Capitoline. 

(2)  The  temple  of  Neptune.  Livy4  mentions  an  altar 
of  Neptune  as  existing  in  206  B.C.  This  altar  was  probably 
replaced  by  the  temple s  built  by  some  member  of  the  gens 
Domitia,  perhaps  Cn.  Domitius  Ahenobarbus  about  30  B.C., 
which  contained  a  masterpiece  of  Skopas.  Northwest  of  the 

1  Cic.  in  Pis.  55;  Jos.  Bell.Iud.  vii.  5.  4;  Gilbert,  III.  157-158;  Jordan,  I.  3. 
495,  501.    For  a  recent  theory  that  the  porta  Triumphalis  was  merely  the 
name  given  to  any  gate  through  which  the  victorious  general  entered  the 
city,  or  to  a  temporary  arch  erected  at  any  point  along  the  line  of  his  march 
through  the  city,  see  BC.  1908, 109-150. 

2  Suet.  Dom.  13;   Dio  Cass.  Ixviii.  1;   Richter,  Top.2  227;  cf.  Mart.  viii. 
65.  8;   Gilbert,  III.  157,  190-191;    BC.  1908,  121-122;    PBS.  iii.  259-260,  269 
(cf.  arcus  Manus  Carneae,  p.  480). 

8  Cic.  de  Nat.  Deor.  iii.  52 ;  Fest.  Epit.  85 ;  GIL.  vi.  32493;  Jordan,  1. 3.  483. 

4  xxviii.  11. 

6  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  26;  Babelon,  Monnaies,  i.  466,  Domitia  20. 


THE   CAMPUS   MARTIUS.  347 

piazza  S.  Salvatore,  the  remains  of  the  substructures  and  of 
six  columns  of  a  pycnostyle  temple  have  been  found,  which  are 
usually  identified  with  this  temple  of  Neptune,  and  there  are 
some  fragments *  of  reliefs  from  an  altar  belonging  to  the 
temple  in  Munich  and  Paris. 

(3)  The  temple  of  Vulcan.     A  temple  of  Vulcan  existed  in 
214  B.C.  and  as  late  as  the  first  century.2     Its  exact  site  is  not 
known,  but  from  the  evidence  of  a  fragmentary  inscription,  it 
may  possibly  have  been  near  the  temple  of  Juturna  (p.  350)  at 
the  north  end  of  the  Saepta.     The  reason  why  this  temple  was 
outside  the  pomerium  is  given  by  Vitruvius:3  (ut)  Volcani  vi 
e  moenibus  religionibus  et  sacrificiis  evocata  ab  timore  incendio- 
rum  aedificia  videantur  liberari. 

(4)  The  temple  of  Hercules  Gustos.     This  temple  was  built  to 
Hercules  in  his  capacity  as  guardian  of  the  circus  Flaminius, 
sometime  between  the  date  of  erection  of  the  circus,  221  B.C., 
and  189  B.C.*     It  was  restored  by  Sulla,  and  is  mentioned  in 
the  first  century.     Its  exact  site  is  unknown,  but  from  indica- 
tions in  one  of  the  calendars  it  seems  to  have  been  near  the 
porticus  Minucia,  and  therefore  at  the  west  end  of  the  circus. 
It   may   possibly   be   identified   with  the  round  temple  near 
S.  Niccold  ai  Cesarini  (p.  362). 

(5)  The  temple  of  Hercules  and  the  Muses.     This  temple  was 
close   to   the   southwest  part  of  the  circus  Flaminius,  and  is 
shown  on  the  Capitoline  Plan.5     It  was  built  by  M.  Fulvius 
Nobilior  after  his  campaign  in  Aetolia,  about  187  B.C.     In  it 


l  BC.  1873,  212-221 ;  Sitz.-Ber.  d.  bayr.  Akad.  1876,  344 ;  Bursian's  Jahres- 
bericht,  1873,  787-789;  Strong,  Sculpture,  33-38;  Furtwangler,  Intermezzi, 
Leipzig,  1896,  35;  Jordan,  I.  3.  522-524. 

2Liv.  xxiv.  10;  Pint.  Quaest.  Bom.  47;  CIL.  i2.  p.  326;  EE.  i.  p.  230; 
Gilbert,  1.252;  Neue  Heidelberger  Jahrbiicher,  1899,  116-117;  Jordan,  I.  3, 
481-482. 

«i.  7.  1. 

4  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  209;  Liv.  xxxviii.  35;  Comm.  in  Aon.  Mommsen,  266-267; 
CIL.  i2.  pp.  319,  324 ;  Gilbert,  III.  80-81. 

6  Jordan,  FUR.  33. 


348  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

was  a  statue  of  Hercules  playing  on  the  lyre,  and  terra  cotta 
statues  of  the  Muses,  the  work  of  Zeuxis.1  In  29  B.C.  L.  Mar- 
cius  Philippus  restored  the  temple2  and  built  a  colonnade, 
the  porticus  Philippi  (p.  376),  round  it.  This  composite  struc- 
ture is  mentioned  as  late  a.s  the  fourth  century,3  and  some 
remains  have  been  found  in  the  piazza  Mattei.4 

(6)  The  temple  of  Fortuna  Equestris.     This  temple  stood  ad 
theatrum  lapideum, 5  that  is  near  the  theatre  of  Pompeius.    It  was 
vowed  in  180  B.C.  by  Q.  Fulvius  Flaccus  during  his  campaign  in 
Spain,6  and  dedicated  in  173.     Fulvius  is  said  to  have  stolen 
the  marble  tiles  from  the  temple  of  luno  Lacinia  in  Bruttiis, 
but  to  have  been  forced  to  restore  them.7    As  we  are  told  that 
there  was  no  temple  to  Fortuna  Equestris  in  Home  in  22  A.D.,8 
it  must  have  been  destroyed  before  that  date,  and  never  rebuilt. 

(7)  The  temple  of  the  Lares  Permarini.     This  temple,  conse- 
crated to  the  Lares  who  protect  sailors,  was  vowed  by  L.  Aemi- 
lius  Eegillus  during  the  naval  battle  with  the  forces  of  Antio- 
chus  in  190  B.C.,  and  dedicated  in  179.9    As  it  is  said  to  have 
stood  in  campo  Martio  and  also  in  portion  Minucia,  its  location 
depends  upon  that  of  the  porticus  (p.  373). 

(8  and  9)  The  temples  of  Diana  and  luno  Kegina.  These 
temples  were  vowed  by  M.  Aemilius  Lepidus  in  187  B.C.,  and 
dedicated  in  179.10  They  were  near  the  circus  Flaminius,  but 
no  traces  of  them  have  been  found.  A  porticus11  connected 
the  temple  of  luno  Regina  with  a  temple  of  Fortuna,  but  we 
do  not  know  whether  this  was  Fortuna  Equestris  or  not,  as 
there  must  have  been  a  considerable  distance  between  the  two. 

1  Serv.  in  Aen.  i.  8;  PI.  NH.  xxxv.  66;  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  797-812;  Bull,  d,  1st. 
1869,  3-12;  Comm.  in  hon.  Mommsen,  262-266. 

2  Suet.  Aug.  29.  3  Macrob.  Sat.  i.  12.  16.  4  Rosa,  Relazione,  75. 
s  Vitr.  iii.  3.  2.                             6  Liv.  xl.  40,  44;  xlii.  10. 

7  Liv.  xlii.  3;  Val.  Max.  i.  1.  20. 

8  Tac.  Ann.  iii.  71 ;  but  cf .  Berl.  Phil.  Wochenschrift,  1903,  1648 ;  Jordan, 
I.  3.  487. 

9  Liv.  xl.  52;  Macrob.  Sat.  i.  10.  10;  OIL.  i*.  p.  338;  Gilbert,  III.  149. 

10  Liv.  xxxix.  2 ;  xl.  52.  u  Obseq.  75. 


THE    CAMPUS   MARTIUS.  349 

(10  and  11)  The  temples  of  luno  and  luppiter  Stator.  After 
149  B.C.  Q.  Caecilius  Metellus  Macedonians  inclosed  these  two 
temples  within  his  portions  (p.  371).  It  is  not  clearly  stated 
that  he  built  both  the  temples,  but  this  is  the  natural  inference 
from  the  passage,  in  which  he  is  also  said  to  have  been  the 
first  Roman  to  construct  a  temple  entirely  of  marble.1  Both 
temples  were  probably  restored  by  Augustus  when  he  replaced 
the  portions  Metelli  by  the  porticus  Octaviae  (p.  372),  and  were 
standing  in  the  fourth  century.  They  were  parallel  to  each 
other,  and  faced  southwest.  Both  are  represented  on  the 
Marble  Plan,2  the  temple  of  Juno  being  hexastyle  prostyle,  and 
the  temple  of  Jupiter  hexastyle  and  peripteral,  with  ten  columns 
on  a  side,  although  Vitruvius 3  says  it  had  eleven.  The  exact 
site  of  each  temple  is  known,  that  of  Jupiter  being  mainly  be- 
neath the  church  of  S.  Maria  in  Campitelli.  The  ruins  of  these 
temples  are  concealed  for  the  most  part  by  modern  houses  in 
the  via  di  S.  Angelo  in  Pescheria,  and  consist  chiefly  of  sub- 
structures and  walls  of  travertine  and  opus  reticulatum,  with 
fragments,  of  marble  columns  and  entablatures.  Three  fluted 
columns  of  white  marble  belonging  to  the  temple  of  Juno,  12.50 
metres  in  height  and  1.25  metres  in  diameter,  with  Corinthian 
capitals  and  entablature,  may  be  seen  in  No.  11  of  the  street 
just  mentioned. 

(12)  The  temple  of  Mars.     This  temple4  also  was  near  the 
circus  Flaminius,  but  its  exact  site  is  unknown.     It  was  built 
by  D.  Junius  Brutus  Callaicus  in  138  B.C.,  and  contained  a 
colossal  statue  of  Mars  and  a  Venus  by  Skopas. 

(13)  The  temple  of  Fortuna  Huiusce  Diei.     In  101  B.C.  Q.  Luta- 
tius  Catulus5  built  and  dedicated  a  temple  to  this   goddess, 
which   he    had    vowed   at   the   battle    of  Vercellae.     Certain 


1  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  35,  40,  42,  43;  Veil.  i.  11;  Macrob.  Sat.  Hi.  4.  2;  Ann.  d. 
Int.  1868, 108-132;  Gilbert,  III.  86-87;  Jordan,  I.  3.  538-540. 

2  Jordan,  FUR.  33.  *  iii.  2.  5. 
*  Priscian,  viii.  17;  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  26;  BC.  1887,  302. 

6  Plut.  Marcell.  26;  GIL.  i2.  p.  323;  Jordan,  I.  3.  104,  491. 


350  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

statues  set  up  ad  aedem  Fortunae  huiusce  diei1  may  have  stood 
in  this  temple  rather  than  in  that  on  the  Palatine  (p.  140). 

(14)  The  temple  of  luturna.     This  temple2  was  erected  by 
Q.  Lutatius  Catulus,  but  whether  the  builder  of  the  Tabularium, 
or  the  victor  in  the  battle  at  the  Aegatian  Islands  in  241  B.C., 
is   uncertain.     It  was  standing   in   the   first  century,  but  its 
exact  site  is  unknown,  although  it  must  have  been  near  the 
north  end  of  the  Saepta.     This  temple  may  be  identical  with  a 
temple  of  the  Nymphs,3  which  contained  many  documents  relat- 
ing to  the  census,  and  was  burned  by  Clodius. 

(15)  The   temple  of  Minerva  Chalcidica.     In  the  year  62  B.C. 
Pompeius  built  a  temple  to  Minerva  from  the  spoils  of  his  cam- 
paigns in  the  East.4     Domitian 5  is  said  to  have  erected  a  temple 
to  Minerva  Chalcidica  between  the  Pantheon  and  the  temple 
of  Isis  and  Serapis.     It  is  possible  that  the  latter  was  a  resto- 
ration of  the  former,  which  may  have  been  destroyed  in  the 
fire  of  80  A.D.     The  temple  of  Domitian  was  standing  in  the 
early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  but  it  was  destroyed  then, 
and  the  modern  church  of  S.  Maria  sopra  Minerva  was  built 
over  part  of  its  foundations.6    No  satisfactory  explanation  has 
been  found  for  the  epithet  Chalcidica. 

(16  and  17)  There  were  two  other  temples  in  the  region  of 
the  circus  Flaminius,  of  which  the  exact  position  and  date  of 
erection  are  unknown,  but  which  probably  belong  to  the  last 
century  of  the  republic;  the  temple  of  Pietas7  (16)  which  was 
struck  by  lightning  in  91  B.C.  ;  and  the  temple  of  Castor  (17) 
which  was  standing  in  the  time  of  Augustus,  and  was  built  on 
unusual  lines.8 

i  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  60;  Procop.  Bell.  Goth.  i.  15. 

2Cic.  pro  G'fa.lOl;  Ov.  Fast.  i.  463-464 ;  Serv.  in  Aen.  xii.  139;  Bull.  d. 
1st.  1871,  136-145 ;  OIL.  1*.  p.  326. 

SOIL.  i2.  pp.  215,  326;  Cic.  pro  Mil.  73;  Farad,  iv.  31;  Gilbert,  III.  162- 
163;  Jordan,  I.  3,  481. 

4  PI.  NH.  vii.  97.  6  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  146;  Cur.  Reg.  ix. 

«  Bcrl.  Phil.  Wochenschrift,  1903,  575. 

"•  Obseq.  114;  Cic.  de  Div.  i.  98;  GIL.  i*.  pp.  335-336.         »  Vitr.  iv.  8.  4. 


THE  CAMPUS  MARTIUS.  351 

(18)  The  Pantheon.  The  Pantheon l  was  built  by  Agrippa  in 
27  B.C.,  and  with  the  thermae,  stagnuua,  and  Euripus  formed 
the  group  of  monuments  which  he  constructed  in  this  part  of 
the  campus  Martius.  This  temple  contained  the  statues  of 
many  divinities,  among  them  those  of  Mars,  Venus,  and  the 
deified  Julius,  and  was  probably  dedicated  particularly  to  these 
ancestral  deities  of  the  Julian  family.  Statues  of  Augustus 
and  Agrippa  himself  stood  in  the  pronaos.  The  Pantheon  was 
burned2  in  80  A.D.  ;  restored  by  Domitian ; 3  struck  by  light- 
ning and  again  destroyed  about  110  A.D.  ; 4  rebuilt  by  Hadrian ; 6 
and  again  restored  by  Severus  in  202  A.D.  On  the  frieze 
of  the  pronaos  of  the  existing  structure  is  the  inscription 
M.  AGRIPPA  L  F.  COS.  TERTIVM  FECIT;  on  the  archi- 
trave below,  another  inscription  recording  the  restoration  by 
Severus  and  Caracalla.6  In  consequence  of  the  first  of  these 
inscriptions,  the  present  structure  was  regarded  until  very 
recently  as  the  original  building  of  Agrippa,  restored 7  but  not 
greatly  changed  by  later  emperors ;  but  the  investigations  car- 
ried on  in  1892  by  Chedanue  have  proved  this  belief  to  be  en- 
tirely erroneous.8  The  discovery  of  bricks  of  Hadrian's  time 
in  every  part  of  the  edifice  proves  conclusively  that  it  was 
wholly  constructed  between  the  years  120  and  124  A.D. 

The  building 10  consists  of  three  parts,  the  rotunda  or  drum, 

HMo  Cass.  liii.  27;  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  38;  Macrob.  Sat.  iii.  17.  17:  Amm 
Marc.  xvi.  10.  14. 

2  Dio  Cass.  Ixvi.  24.  *  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  146.  *  Oros.  vii.  12. 

s  Spart.  Vit.  Hadr.  19.     «  CIL.  vi.  896.     *  NS.  1881,  255-276;  1882,  341-347. 

*NS.  1892,  88-90;  BC.  1892,  150-159;  Arch.  Am.  1893,  1-5;  Mitt.  1893, 
305-318. 

9  Mitt.  1893,  312-315;  CIL.  xv.  276,  362,  811,  1406,  etc. 

10  For  the  recent  literature  on  the  Pantheon,  see  Richter,  Top.2  239.    Most 
important    are    Michaelis,    Das    Pantheon,    Preussische   Jahrbiicher,   1893, 
208-224;  Guillaume,  Le  Pantheon  a"  Agrippa,  Revue  des  deux  mondes,  1892, 
562-581 ;  L.  Beltrami,  H  Pantheon,  Milan,  189*} ;  Durm,  Baukunst  der  Romer 
2d  ed.  Darmstadt,  1904,  275-280,  343,   550-575;   Rivoira,   Lombardic  Archi- 
tecture, II.  100-101     Nuova  Antologia,  1910,  631-633.    See  also  Altmann 
Rundbauten,  60-63;  Jordan,  I.  3.  581-59Q. 


352  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

the  vestibule,  and  the  pronaos.  The  rotunda  is  an  enormous 
circular  structure,  containing  a  single  hall.  The  walls,  com 
posed  of  eight  hollow  piers,  6.20  metres  thick,  and  of  connect- 
ing masonry  of  lesser  thickness,  support  a  vast  dome,  at  the 
top  of  which  is  a  circular  opening  9  metres  in  diameter, 
through  which  light  is  admitted.  The  inner  diameter  of  the 
drum  is  the  same  as  the  height  from  the  pavement  to  the  open- 
ing in  the  dome,  43.50  metres.  Directly  opposite  the  entrance, 
and  in  the  middle  of  the  east  and  west  sides,  are  semicircular 
niches,  and  between  these  are  trapezoidal  niches,  making  seven 
in  all  besides  the  entrance.  An  entablature  runs  round  the 
hall,  supported  by  pilasters  flanking  each  niche  and  by  marble 
Corinthian  columns  in  front  of  the  niches.  Between  the  niches 
are  rectangular  projections  flanked  by  small  columns,  which 
have  been  converted  into  altars.  The  pavement  is  composed  of 
slabs  of  granite,  porphyry,  and  colored  marbles,  and  the  walls 

..  of  the  hall  were  once  covered  with  magnificent  marble  linings. 

|  The  ceiling  of  the  dome  is  coffered  and  was  originally  gilded. 
The  walls  are  built  of  brick  and  brick-faced  concrete,  with  a 
somewhat  complicated  system  of  brick  relieving  arches.  Thus 
above  each  of  the  four  trapezoidal  niches  in  the  perpendicular 
wall  is  an  arch  spanning  the  entire  width  of  the  niche,  resting 
on  the  piers  on  each  side  of  the  niche  and  reaching  nearly  to 
the  impost  of  the  dome.  This  arch  is  composed  of  three  con- 
centric rings  of  brick  (tegulae  bipedales),  and  extends  through 
the  whole  thickness  of  the  wall.  Beneath  each  of  these  arches 
are  three  small  flat  arches,  and  beneath  them  three  others  still 
smaller  and  flatter.  Within  the  space  of  each  large  arch  are 
two  walls  of  brick,  perpendicular  to  the  circumference  of  the 
drum,  and  between  them  is  a  series  of  arched  chambers  each 
with  two  or  three  connecting  sections.  This  method  of  con- 
struction serves  to  distribute  the  vast  weight  of  the  dome. 

The  investigation  of  the  dome  itself  has  been  carried  as  far 
as  the  second  row  of  coffers,  and  has  shown  that  it  is  con- 
structed, so  far  at  least,  of  horizontal  rings  of  brick,  constantly 


THE   CAMPUS   MARTIUS. 


353 


FIG  72.  —  THE  PLAN  OF  THE  PANTHEON. 


354  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

diminishing  in  diameter,  and  of  a  series  of  arches  which  corre- 
spond to  those  just  described.  The  walls  of  the  drum  rest 
upon  foundations  of  concrete,  which  project  15  centimetres  be- 
yond the  drum  on  the  outside  and  70  centimetres  on  the  inside. 
This  foundation  is  itself  surrounded  on  the  outside  by  a  ring 
of  opus  reticulatum,  which  is  thought  by  some  to  be  earlier 


FIG.  73.  —  THE  PANTHEON. 

than  Hadrian's  building  and  perhaps  to  have  belonged  to  the 
thermae  of  Agrippa. 

The  vestibule,  34  metres  wide  and  7.40  deep,  is  connected 
with  the  rotunda,  rests  upon  the  same  foundations,  and  was 
built  at  the  same  time.  In  front,  on  each  side  of  the  entrance, 
are  semicircular  niches,  which  formerly  contained  the  statues 
of  Augustus  and  Agrippa.  These  niches  are  flanked  with 
Corinthian  pilasters,  and  there  are  similar  pilasters  on  the 
east  and  west  side  walls  of  the  vestibule,  between  which  runs 
a  double  frieze  with  reliefs  of  garlands  and  candelabra.  The 


THE   CAMPUS   MARTIUS. 


355 


threshold  of  the  rotunda  is  an  enormous  slab  of  Porta  santa 
marble  ;  but  the  bronze  doors  date  from  the  sixteenth  century. 
The  exterior  of  the  building  is  faced  with  small  triangular 
bricks,  with  courses  of  tegulae  bipedales  at  regular  intervals, 
and  is  divided  into  three  zones  by  cornices.  In  the  central 
zone  are  sixteen  sham  windows.  This  whole  surface  of  the 
drum  and  the  vestibule  was  covered  with  marble  and  stucco, 
while  that  of  the  dome  was  covered  with  tiles  of  gilt 
bronze. 

The  portico  or  pronaos  is  rectangular,  34  metres  wide  and 
13.60  deep,  and  has  three  rows  of  columns,  eight  in  the  front 
row  and  four  in  the  second  and  third,  making  sixteen  in  all. 
These  columns  are  of  red  and  gray  granite,  12.50  metres  in 
height  and  1.50  in  diameter,  and  are  surmounted  by  Corinthian 
capitals  of  white  marble.  Two  of  them  now  standing  at  the 
east  end  of  the  portico  were  taken  from  the  thermae  Alexan- 
drinae  and  set  up  by  Alexander  VII  in  1662,  to  replace  two  of 
the  original  columns  which  had  been  injured.  These  columns 
support  an  entablature  and  a  triangular  pediment,  which  was 
adorned  with  reliefs  and  statues.  The  inscriptions  on  the  frieze 
and  architrave  have  already  been  mentioned.  The  entablature 
is  continued  on  both  sides  of  the  portico  and  vestibule  as  far 
as  the  wall  of  the  drum,  thus  cutting  the  central  zone  of  the 
latter  directly  in  the  middle.  The  pavement  of  the  portico 
is  composed  of  slabs  of  marble  and  granite.  There  is  no  con- 
nection between  the  portico  and  the  main  structure,  but  an 
open  space  55  millimetres  wide,  and  the  foundations  of  the 
portico  were  built  after  those  of  the  rotunda.  It  is  there- 
fore certain  that  the  portico  was  built  after  the  rest  of  the 
structure,  but  probably  immediately  afterward,  for  its  con- 
struction seems  to  date  from  Hadrian's  time,  and  we  can  hardly 
conceive  of  the  rotunda  and  vestibule  standing  by  themselves 
with  no  proper  front.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  the  faqade 
of  Hadrian's  structure  was  entirely  replaced  by  the  existing 
portico  at  some  time  between  Hadrian  and  Severus,  old  material 


356  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

being  used  in  its  construction.1  The  roof  of  the  portico  was 
supported  by  a  system  of  trusses  and  was  ornamented  with 
gilding.  The  columns  rest  upon  two  sorts  of  foundation ; 
those  of  the  second  and  third  rows  upon  parallel  walls  of  con- 
crete of  Hadrian's  time,  and  those  of  the  front  row  on  a  trav- 
ertine wall  which  belonged  to  an  earlier  rectangular  structure, 
43.76  metres  wide  and  19.82  deep,  the  short  axis  of  which 


FIG.  74. —  THE  INTERIOR  OF  THE  PANTHEON.2 

coincides  with  the  north-south  axis  of  the  rotunda.  This  trav- 
ertine wall,  being  longer  than  the  width  of  the  portico,  pro- 
jects beyond  it  on  each  side,  and  could  have  supported  ten 
instead  of  eight  columns.  The  side  wall  on  the  west  can  be 
traced,  and  is  19.82  metres  long.  These  walls  belonged  to  a 
travertine  and  peperino  podium ;  and  surrounding  them,  at  an 
average  distance  of  1  metre,  was  a  marble  stylobate.  The 

1  Cf.  Durm,  'Baukunst  der  Romer,  2d  ed.,  557. 

2  The  proportions  of  the  building  have  been  changed  in  this  illustration,  in 
order  to  show  more  of  the  interior. 


THE   CAMPUS  MARTIUS.  357 

space  between  the  stylobate  and  the  podium  appears  to  have 
been  filled  with  rubble.  On  the  south  side  of  this  early  build- 
ing was  a  projection — evidently  a  pfonaos  —  21.26  metres 
wide,  showing  that  the  building  was  a  temple  fronting  south, 
in  form  similar  to  the  temple  of  Concord,  much  wider  than 
deep,  with  a  pronaos  which  did  not  extend  across  the  en- 
tire front.  The  level  of  this  travertine  podium  is  about  2.50 
metres  below  the  present  pavement  of  the  portico. 

Beneath  the  pavement  of  the  rotunda,  at  a  depth  of  2.15 
metres,  there  is  an  earlier  pavement,  consisting  of  a  bed  of 
rubble  on  which  were  laid  slabs  of  marble,  of  which  fragments 
of  pavonazzetto  and  giallo  antico  have  been  found.  This  pave- 
ment extends  everywhere  under  the  rotunda,  and  originally 
covered  a  greater  area,  for  it  was  cut  off  when  the  circular 
foundations  of  the  drum  were  laid.  It  is  highest  in  the  mid- 
dle and  slopes  away  in  all  directions,  a  condition  which  is 
probably  due  to  the  great  pressure  of  the  walls  of  the  drum. 
There  are  no  traces  of  walls  crossing  this  pavement,  and 
therefore  it  is  probable  that  it  was  the  pavement  of  an  open 
area,  in  front  of  the  earlier  structure  which  is  beneath  the 
portico.  Traces  of  a  third  pavement  have  been  found  beneath 
that  just  described.  The  marble  pavement  has  also  been 
found  under  the  portico,  between  the  travertine  podium  and 
the  present  pavement. 

The  result  of  these  discoveries  is  to  show  that  the  existing    ; 
Pantheon  is  entirely  the   work  of   Hadrian,  and  that  it  was    •. 
built  over  an  earlier  building,  which  is  probably  the  Pantheon 
of  Agrippa,  restored  by  Domitian.     The  presence  of  the  in- 
scription recording  Agrippa's  building  may  be  explained  by 
the  statement  of  Hadrian's  biographer  that  that  emperor  never 
inscribed  his  own  name  on  monuments  which  he  restored,  nor 
even  on  those  which  he  himself  erected,  with  but  one  exception.1 
The  inscription  may  therefore  be  either  the  original  one  of 

i  AJA.  1905,  425-449. 


358  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

Agrippa,  preserved  through  the  vicissitudes  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years,  or  one  cut  by  Hadrian. 

The  restoration  by  Severus  was  probably  confined  to  a  re- 
decoration  of  the  interior.  Portions  of  this  marble  ornamenta- 
tion existed  until  the  eighteenth  century,  when  the  present 
system  was  substituted.  The  gilt  tiles  of  the  roof  of  the 
dome  were  carried  off  by  Constans  II,  and  the  bronze  trusses 
and  roof  of  the  portico  were  converted  into  cannon  by  the  Bar- 
berini  Pope,  Urban  VIII,  in  1625. 

In  609,  Boniface  IV  brought  to  the  Pantheon  the  bones  of 
several  hundred  martyrs  from  the  catacombs,  and  dedicated 
the  temple  as  the  church  of  S.  Maria  ad  Martyres.  In  later 
times  it  has  been  known  as  S.  Maria  Rotonda,  and  has  been 
made  the  burial-place  of  the  kings  of  Italy. 

In  front  of  the  Pantheon  was  an  open  space  surrounded  by 
the  usual  porticus,  which  extended  north  as  far  as  the  present 
via  delle  Copelle  and  via  del  Collegio,  and  on  the  east  and 
west  coincided  with  the  line  of  the  modern  houses.  Its 
columns  were  of  gray  granite,  and  its  level  somewhat  below 
the  present.  Flights  of  five  steps  led  from  the  portico  of  the 
Pantheon  to  the  travertine  pavement  of  this  area.  Some  frag- 
ments of  the  pavement  and  columns  have  been  discovered. 

(19)  Iseum  et  Serapeum.  The  great  temple  of  Isis  and  Serapis 
stood  between  the  Saepta  and  the  temple  of  Minerva.  We  are 
told  that  the  triumvirs  voted  in  43  B.C.  to  erect  a  temple  to 
these  divinities,1  but  it  was  probably 2  not  built  until  the  reign 
of  Caligula,  about  39  A.D.  It  was  burned  in  80  A.D.,3  and 
afterward  rebuilt  by  Domitian 4  on  a  magnificent  scale.  It  was 
restored  still  later  by  Alexander  Severus,5  about  the  time  when 
this  cult  reached  the  height  of  its  popularity.  The  last  resto- 
ration was  under  Diocletian.6 


1  Dio  Cass.  xlvii.  15.  2  Wissowa,  Religion  der  Romer,  292-296. 

8  Dio  Cass.  Ixvi.  24;  cf.  Jos.  Bell.  lud.  vii.  5.  4.  <  Eutrop.  vii.  23. 

5  Lamprid.  Vit,  Mex.  Sev.  26.  6  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  148. 


THE   CAMPUS   MARTIUS.  359 

The  recent  rearrangement  and  study  of  the  Marble  Plan 
(p.  4)  has  shown  that  this  structure  was  not  one  double 
temple,  like  that  of  Venus  and  Roma,  but  that  it  consisted  of 
two  distinct  parts.1  The  Iseum  was  toward  the  north,  and 
while  it  cannot  be  reconstructed  with  any  certainty,  it  seems 
to  have  consisted  of  a  long,  narrow  temple,  standing  at  one 
end  of  an  inclosure,  also  long  and  narrow.  The  porticus  which 
made  this  inclosure  seems  to  have  resembled  the  forum  Transi- 
torium  in  form  and  architecture.  It  is  not  clear  whether  the 
entrance  to  this  temple  was  on  the  north,  or  on  the  south 
toward  the  Serapeurn.  The  two  small  obelisks,2  now  set  up  in 
the  piazza  dei  Cinquecento  and  the  piazza  della  Minerva,  and 
probably  that  of  the  piazza  della  Eotonda,  were  found  on  the 
site  of  the  Iseum,  and  may  have  stood  in  front  of  it.  Within 
the  porticus  were  statues  of  sphinxes  and  lions.  The  Serapeum 
is  shown  on  the  existing  fragments  of  the  Marble  Plan.  Its 
south  end  was  formed  by  a  large  semicircular  apse,  about  60 
metres  in  diameter,  in  the  outer  wall  of  which  were  several 
small  exedrae.  The  inner  side  of  this  apse  was  adorned  with 
columns,  and  a  colonnade  formed  its  diameter.  Immediately 
north  of  this  apse  was  a  rectangular  area,  of  the  same  width 
as  the  apse,  and  about  20  metres  deep,  with  three  entrances  on 
its  north  side. 

Within  the  temple  and  porticus  were  gathered  together 
countless  works  of  art,  many  of  which  have  been  recovered, 
among  them  the  statues  of  the  Tiber  (Louvre),  the  Nile 
(Vatican),  the  Ocean  (Naples),  the  lions3  in  the  Vatican,  the 
obelisks  already  mentioned  and  probably  others.  Parts  of  six 
of  the  columns  of  the  Iseum  have  been  found  in  situ,  and  of 
eight  of  the  Serapeuin. 

1  Lanciani,  L' Iseum  et  Serapeum  della  regione  IX,  BC.  1883,  33-131;  1887, 
377;  Hulsen.  Porticus  Divorum  und  Serapeum,  Milt.  1903,  17-57,  pi.  I,  II; 
Jordan,  I.  3.567-571. 

2  Marucchi,  Gli  obelischi  egizianidi  Roma,  2d  ed.,  Rome,  1898. 
8  BC.  1890,  321-324;  Mitt.  1891,  125. 


360  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

(20)  The  temple  of  Fortuna  Bedux.     This  temple *  was  built 
by  Domitian  immediately  after  his  triumphal  entry  into  Rome 
in  93  A.D.     It  was  probably  near  the  porta  Triumphalis,  and 
is  mentioned  in  the  fourth  century. 

(21)  The  temple  of  the  deified  Hadrian,  or  Hadrianeum.2     This 
temple,  erected  by  Antoninus  Pius,  probably  stood  northeast 
of  the  Pantheon,  and  is  probably  to  be  identified  with  the 
ancient  temple  that  is  now  incorporated  in  the  Bourse  (Fig.  75), 
and  which  has  usually  been  called  the  basilica  of  Neptune 
(p.  378). 

A  part3  of  the  northeast  side  is  still  standing  and  consists  of 
eleven  fluted  columns  of  white  marble  with  Corinthian  capitals, 
and  a  richly  decorated  entablature.  The  columns  are  15  metres 
in  height  and  1.44  in  diameter.  The  cornice  has  been  so  badly 
restored  as  to  appear  now  in  three  patterns.  The  wall  of  the 
cella  behind  the  columns  is  of  peperino,  and  the  original  marble 
lining  has  entirely  disappeared.  Cella  and  columns  stand  upon 
a  lofty  stylobate,  which  is  now  buried  beneath  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  This  stylobate  was  adorned  with  reliefs,4  those  beneath 
the  columns  representing  the  provinces,  and  those  in  the  inter- 
columnar  spaces  trophies  of  victory.  In  all,  sixteen  statues  of 
provinces  and  six  trophies  are  in  existence,  but  they  are  scat- 
tered in  five  different  collections  in  Rome  and  Naples. 

An  exact  restoration  of  this  building  is  perhaps  impossible, 
but  it  is  quite  probable  that  the  temple  was  octostyle,  perip- 
teral, with  fifteen  columns  on  a  side.  If  we  suppose  that  a 
wide  flight  of  steps  occupied  the  whole  front  of  the  stylobate, 
there  would  be  space  for  thirty-six  reliefs  beneath  the  remain- 

1  Mart.  viii.  65 ;  Claud,  de  Sext.  Cons.  Honorii,  1 ;  PBS.  iii.  259-262.    For  a 
theory  that  this  temple  stood  outside  the  porta  Capeiia,  see  BC.  1908,  122-124. 

2  Jul.  Cap.  Vit.  Ant.  8;    Vit.  Veri,  3;   Cur.  Reg.  ix;  BC.  1885,  92-93;  Jor- 
dan, I.  3. 608-610;  Lucas,  Zur  Geschichte  der  Neptunsbasilica  in  Rom,  Berlin, 
1904. 

»  NS.  1879,  68,  267,  314;  1880,  228;  1883,  81;  BC.  1878,  10-27;  1883,  14-16; 
Strong,  Sculpture,  243-246 ;  388-392. 
*  Jahrb.d.  Inst.  1900,  1-42. 


THE   CAMPUS   MARTIUS. 


361 


ing  columns  of  the  peristyle,  and  this  is  exactly  the  number  of 
the  provinces  in  the  time  of  Hadrian.  Other  remains  have 
been  found,  among  them  pieces  of  travertine  pavement  within 
the  cella,  and  fragments  of  columns  and  cornice  and  a  granite 
threshold  4  metres  below  the  present  floor  level.  This  temple 
was  inclosed  by  a  rectangular  porticus  of  which  some  ruins 


FIG   75.  —  THE  HADRIANEUM. 

have  been  found  —  namely,  portions  of  a  travertine  pavement 
4  metres  below  the  present  level  of  the  soil,  peperino  blocks,  a 
Corinthian  column  of  yellow  marble,  and  various  architectural 
fragments. 

With  these  temples  may  be  counted  the  ara  Pacis  Augnstae. 
After  the  return  of  Augustus  from  Spain  and  Gaul  in  13  B.C., 
the  Senate  voted  to  erect  an  altar  to  the  Pax  Augusta,1  on  which 

i  Mon.  Anc.  ii.  37-41 ;  Ov.  Fast.  i.  709;  Dio  Cass.  liv.  25. 


362  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

the  magistrates,  priests,  and  Vestals  should  offer  sacrifices  once 
a  year.  This  decree  was  dated  July  4,  13  B.C.,  but  the  dedica- 
tion did  not  take  place  until  January  30,  9  B.C.  The  altar1 
stood  on  the  via  Flaminia,  under  the  modern  palazzo  Fiano  at 
the  corner  of  the  Corso  and  the  via  in  Lucina,  where  many  of 
its  fragments  have  been  found.  These  fragments  are  now 
scattered  in  various  collections  in  Rome,  Florence,  and  Paris. 
The  altar  stood  within  an  inclosing  wall  of  white  marble,  about 
6  metres  high,  which  formed  a  rectangle  about  11.50  metres 
east  and  west,  and  about  10.50  metres  north  and  south.  In  the 
middle  of  the  east  and  west  sides  were  entrances  flanked  with 
pilasters,  and  other  pilasters  stood  at  each  angle  of  the  inclos- 
ure.  The  inside  of  the  inclosing  wall  was  decorated  with  a 
frieze  of  garlands  and  ox-skulls  above  a  maeander  pattern,  be- 
neath which  was  a  panelling  of  fluted  marble.  A  frieze  of 
flowers  and  palmettes  adorned  the  outside  of  the  inclosure,  and 
above  this  on  the  north  and  south  sides  were  reliefs  represent- 
ing the  procession  in  honor  of  the  goddess.  On  each  side  of 
the  east  entrance  were  sacrificial  scenes,  while  that  on  the  west 
was  flanked  by  a  relief  of  Tellus,  and  by  what  seems  to  have 
been  an  allegorical  representation  of  the  Senate. 

The  church  of  S.  Niccold  ai  Cesarini,  just  east  of  the  portions 
Pompeia,  stands  upon  the  foundations  of  a  rectangular  perip- 
teral hexastyle  temple  of  tufa.  Parts  of  six  columns  of  the 
front  of  the  pronaos  and  of  three  of  the  left  side,  together  with 
a  part  of  the  angle  of  the  cella,  are  in  situ  beneath  the  church. 
In  the  garden  of  the  same  church,  close  to  the  south  wall,  are 
the  remains  of  a  circular  peripteral  temple,2  with  a  concrete 


1  Mitt.  1894,  171-228;  1903,  164-176;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1881,  302-329;  Man.  d.  1st. 
xi.  pi.  xxxiv-xxxvi;  NS.  1899,  50-51;  1903,  549-574;  CR.  1899,  234;  1904,  331; 
Petersen,  Ara  Pads  Augustae,  Vienna,  1902;   Jahreshefte  des  oesterr.  Arch. 
Instituts,  1902,  153-164;  1903,  57-66;  1906,  298-315;  Sieveking,  ibid.  1907,  175- 
190 ;   Beiblatt,  107 ;    Wiener  Studien,  1902,  425-436 ;   Strong,  Sculpture,  39-62 ; 
Bollettino  d'Arte,  1907,  1-16;  PSS.  v.  176-178. 

2  BC.  1893,  191;  Altmann,  Rundbauten,  38-40. 


THE   CAMPUS   MARTIUS.  363 

podium  and  fluted  columns  of  tufa.  These  columns,  sixteen 
in  number,  were  covered  with  stucco  and  stood  on  bases  of 
travertine.  Fragments  of  seven  have  been  preserved. 

Both  these  temples  are  represented  on  the  Marble  Plan1  and 
in  drawings  of  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  but  they  can- 
not be  identified  with  any  certainty,  although  some 2  regard  the 
round  temple  as  that  of  Hercules  Magnus  Gustos  (see  above, 
p.  347,  No.  4). 

Another  result  of  the  recent  study  of  the  Marble  Plan  has 
been  the  discovery  that  eleven  of  its  fragments,  eight  of  which 
are  new,  represent  a  large  building  between  the  Saepta  lulia 
and  the  baths  of  Agrippa.3  This  structure  covered  a  consider- 
able part  of  the  area  now  occupied  by  the  palazzi  Venezia, 
Grazioli,  and  Altieri,  and  the  church  of  the  Gesu,  and  it  was 
hitherto  known  to  us  only  as  Divorum,  from  its  mention  in  the 
Regionary  Catalogue4  and  Chronograph.  A  porticus  Divorum  is 
also  said  to  have  been  built  by  Domitian.5  It  is  now  almost 
certain  that  Divorum  is  an  abbreviation  for  templum  Divo- 
rum, that  is,  aedes  divi  Vespasiani  et  aedes  divi  Titi,  a  temple 
erected  by  Domitian  in  memory  of  his  father  and  brother,  and 
that  the  porticus  Divorum  was  the  usual  porticus  attached  to 
this  double  temple.  The  building  is  represented  as  a  rectangle 
about  200  metres  long  and  55  wide,  containing  a  grove  and  an 
altar,  with  something  over  thirty  columns  on  the  long  sides 
and  sixteen  on  one  short  side.  The  entrance,  on  the  north, 
was  formed  by  a  triple  arch ;  and  just  within  this  entrance,  on 
either  side,  was  a  small  tetrastyle  shrine.  It  is  entirely  prob- 
able that  one  of  these  was  the  aedes  divi  Vespasiani  and  the 
other  the  aedes  divi  Titi.8  In  front  of  the  entrance  is  a  lava- 
crum,  to  which  belonged  the  famous  bronze  cone  (pinea  pigna) 

i  Jordan,  FUR.  110.  2  Lanciani,  Ruins,  457-458. 

«  Berl.  Phil.  Wochenschrift,  1903,  574-575;  Mitt.  1903,  17-57,  pi.  I,  II;  Jor- 
dan, I.  3.  564-566. 

4  Not.  Reg.  ix ;  Gilbert,  III,  133.  6  Eutrop.  vii.  23. 

«  CIL.  vi.  10234,  lines  8,  23. 


364  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

of  the  Vatican  that  in  the  middle  ages  gave  its  name  to  that 
region  of  the  city. 

Buildings  for  Theatrical  Representations  and  Games. — The 
circus  Flaminius.  As  early  as  221  B.C.,  C.  Flaminius  Nepos, 
while  censor,  erected  in  the  south  part  of  the  campus  Martius 
his  famous  circus,1  which  was  for  many  years  the  most  con- 
spicuous building  in  this  section  of  the  city,  and  gave  its  name 
first  to  the  immediate  neighborhood  and  afterward  to  the  whole 
ninth  region.  Its  site  is  now  entirely  covered  with  modern 
houses,  and  no  traces  of  the  circus  itself  are  visible ;  but  its 
exact  position  is  known  from  the  descriptions  of  writers  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  at  which  time  large  portions  of  the  first 
story  were  still  standing.  The  length  of  the  circus  was  about 
297  metres,  its  width  about  120,2  and  its  main  axis  ran  nearly 
east  and  west.  It  appears  to  have  been  built  according  to  the 
plan  adopted  in  later  structures  of  a  similar  nature,  and  its 
lower  story  opened  outward  through  a  series  of  travertine  ar- 
cades, between  which  were  Doric  half-columns.  In  this  circus 
the  ludi  plebeii 3  and  the  ludi  Taurii 4  were  celebrated,  and  its 
proximity  to  the  centre  of  the  city  made  it  a  favorite  place 
for  holding  assemblies  of  the  people 5  and  for  markets. 

Amphitheatres.  The  amphitheatre,  or  edifice  consisting  of 
concentric  rows  of  rising  seats  which  entirely  inclose  a  central 
arena,  seems  to  have  been  a  purely  Roman  invention,  adapted 
for  shows  of  various  kinds,  but  especially  for  gladiatorial  com- 
bats and  fights  with  wild  beasts.  The  most  conspicuous  ex- 
ample of  this  class  of  buildings  is  the  Colosseum,  but  there 
were  at  least  two  that  were  earlier  in  the  campus  Martius. 

The  first  stone  amphitheatre  in  Rome  was  built  in  30  B.C. 


.  Epit.  xx ;  Varro,  LL.  v.  154;  Jordan,  FUR.  27;    GIL.  vi.  9713;   E. 
Caetani-Lovatelli,  Passegiate  nella  Roma  Antica,  Rome,  1909,  108-128. 

2  Lanciani,  Ruins,  454.    Cf.,  however,  Jordan,  I.  3.  551. 

3  Val.  Max.  i.  7.  4.  4  Test.  351. 
6  Cic.  ad  Alt.  i.  14;  pro  Sest.  33;  Dio.  Cass.  Iv.  2. 


THE   CAMPUS  MARTIUS.  365 

by  L.  Statilius  Taurus.1  It  belonged  to  the  family  of  the 
builder,  and  seems  to  have  been  of  small  size.2  It  was  burned8 
in  the  great  fire  of  64  A.D.,  but  Nero  immediately  erected  a 
wooden  amphitheatre,  perhaps  on  the  site  of  that  of  Taurus.4 
No  traces  of  either  amphitheatre  have  been  found,  but  the 
slight  elevation  in  the  campus  Martius,  called  moute  Giordano, 
is  thought  by  some 5  to  have  been  caused  by  the  ruins  of  the 
building  of  Taurus  (see  also  page  370). 

-  Stadium  Domitiani.  The  athletic  contests  of  the  Greeks  were 
introduced  into  Home  in  the  last  century  of  the  republic, 
and  Caesar  and  Augustus8  erected  temporary  structures  in 
which  they  might  be  held,  but  Nero 7  seems  to  have  been  the 
first  to  put  up  a  permanent  building.  This  Gymnasium,  as  it 
was  called,  which  was  attached  to  Nero's  baths,  was  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  wonderful  edifices  in  the  city.8  It  was 
struck  by  lightning 9  and  burned  to  the  ground  in  62  A.D.,  and 
there  is  no  record  of  its  restoration  ;  but  the  stadium  built  by 
Domitian  10  probably  occupied  the  same  site.  This  stadium 
was  probably  restored  by  Alexander  Severus,11  and  was  known 
in  the  middle  ages  as  the  stadium  Alexandrinum.  It  was 
spoken  of  in  the  fourth  century12  as  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful buildings  in  Rome.  Curiously  enough,  the  modern  piazza 
Navona,  the  longest  in  the  city,  preserves  almost  exactly  the 
shape  and  size  of  the  stadium  of  Domitian.  The  piazza,  corre- 
sponds with  the  arena  of  the  stadium,  the  length  of  which 
seems  to  have  been  about  250  metres,  and  the  surrounding 

1  Suet.  Aug.  29;  Dio  Cass.  li.  23. 

2  OIL.  vi.  6226-6228;  Dio  Cass.  lix.  10.  «  Dio  Cass.  Ixii.  18. 

*  Suet.  Nero,  12;  Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  31.     See  O'Connor,  Bulletin  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin,  1904,  176-178. 

6  Lauciani,  Ruins,  369-371.  «  Suet.  Cues.  39;  Dio  Cass.  liii.  1. 

7  Tac.  Ann.  xiv.  47.     Hiilsen  (Jordan,  I.  3.  590)  regards  this  as  merely  a 
part  of  the  baths  of  Nero  (p.  388). 

8  Philost.  Vit.  Apoll.  iv.  42.  »  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  22. 

1°  Suet.  Dom.  5;  Eutrop.  vii.  23.  "  Lamprid,  Vit.  Alex.  Sev.  24. 

12  Amm.  Marcell.  xvi.  10.  14. 


366  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

buildings  stand  on  the  ruins  of  the  cavea.  Under  some  of 
these  buildings,  especially  the  church  of  S.  Agnese  in  the 
middle  of  the  west  side,  brick  and  concrete  walls  and  frag- 
ments of  the  travertine  seats  may  still  be  seen. 

The  theatre  of  Pompeius.  This,  the  first  permanent  theatre  of 
Rome,  was  built  by  Cn.  Pompeius  in  55  B.C.,  and  from  its  con- 
struction was  frequently  called  theatrum  lapideum  or  marmo- 
reum.1  The  results  of  excavations  at  various  periods,  compared 
with  the  outlines  of  the  theatre  on  the  Marble  Plan,  enable  us 
to  determine  its  location  with  accuracy,  just  northwest  of  the 
circus  Flamiriius.  Some  remains  of  walls  of  travertine  and 
opus  reticulatum  still  exist  beneath  the  modern  houses.  The 
facade  of  the  semicircular  cavea  resembled  that  of  the  theatre 
of  Marcellus,  consisting  of  three  series  of  arcades,  adorned  with 
half-columns,  those  of  the  lowest  arcade  being  of  the  Doric 
order,  the  second  of  the  Ionic,  and  the  third  of  the  Corinthian. 
The  whole  building  was  magnificently  embellished  with  stucco 
and  marble.  It  was  always  the  most  important2  theatre  in  the 
city,  as  well  as  the  largest,  seating,  according  to  the  most  care- 
ful estimate,  about  ten  thousand  spectators.3  Even  after  the 
erection  of  all  the  wonderful  structures  of  the  empire,  it  was 
regarded  in  the  fourth  century  as  inter  decora  urbis  aeternae.* 

In  order  to  avoid  censure  for  having  built  a  permanent 
theatre,  Pompeius  is  said5  to  have  erected  a  temple  to  Venus 
Victrix  at  the  top  of  the  central  part  of  the  cavea,  so  that 
the  rows  of  seats  might  appear  to  be  the  steps  leading  up  to 
the  temple,  and  to  have  dedicated  the  whole  as  a  temple  and 
not  as  a  theatre.  From  a  notice  in  one  of  the  calendars,6  it 
appears  that  there  were  at  least  three  other  temples,  dedi- 


1  Asc.  in  Pis.  I;  Veil.  ii.  48;  Plut.  Pomp.  52;  Dio  Cass.  xxxix.  38;  Vitr.  iii. 
3.  2;  Gilbert,  III.  322-327;  Jordan,  FUR.  30;  Jordan,  I.  3.  524-530. 

2  Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  54;  Dio  Cass.  Ixiii.  6;  PI.  NH.  xxxiii.  54. 

3  BC.  1894,  321;  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  115. 

4  Amm.  Marcell.  xvi.  10.  14.  6  Tertull.  tie  Spect.  10;  Gell.  x.  1.  &-10. 
»  Hemerol.  Amitern.  Aug.  12;  OIL.  i2.  p.  324.     Cf.  also  Suet.  Claud.  21. 


THE   CAMPUS   MARTIUS.  367 

cated  to  Honor,  Virtus,  and  Felicitas,  similarly  placed  within  the 
theatre. 

Augustus  1  restored  this  theatre  in  32  B.C.  ;  and  it  was  after- 
ward frequently  injured  by  fire,  but  always  rebuilt,  —  by 
Tiberius,  Caligula,  and  Claudius,2  by  Titus  and  Domitian,3  by 
Septimius  Severus,4  by  Diocletian  perhaps,5  and  by  Honorius 
and  Arcadius.6 

The  theatre  of  Balbus.  This  theatre  was  built  by  L.  Cornelius 
Balbus,  a  friend  of  Augustus,  and  dedicated  in  13  B.C.7  It 
was  burned  in  80  A..D.,  restored,8  probably  by  Domitian,  and  is 
mentioned  as  existing  in  the  fourth  century.  It  was  smaller 
than  the  theatre  of  Pompeius  and  held  about  eight  thousand 
spectators.9  The  ruins  of  this  theatre  formed  in  the  middle 
ages  the  slight  elevation  known  as  the  monte  dei  Cenci,  and 
some  remains  of  walls  are  now  hidden  by  the  houses  in  the 
piazza  dei  Cenci.  From  data  afforded  by  earlier  excavations 
and  by  notes  and  drawings  of  the  renaissance,  it  has  been 
possible  to  fix  the  exact  site  of  the  theatre,  and  it  is  probable 
that  its  main  axis  ran  about  northwest-southeast.10  Its  ex- 
terior was  like  that  of  the  theatres  of  Pompeius  and  Marcellus, 
being  built  of  travertine  with  three  series  of  arcades  with 
engaged  columns,  Doric  below,  and  Ionic  and  Corinthian  on 
the  second  and  third  stories.  It  contained  four  columns  of 
onyx,  which  excited  the  utmost  wonder  and  admiration  in 
Rome.11 

The  Orypta  Balbi 12  was  probably  built  by  Balbus  in  15  B.C., 
at  the  same  time  as  his  theatre.  The  name  is  best  explained 

I  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  9. 

2Tac.  Ann.  iii.  72;  vi.  45;  Suet.  Tib.  47;  Cal.  21;  Claud.  21;  Dio  Cass. 
lx.6. 

8  Dio  Cass.  Ixvi.  24.  7  Suet.  Aug.  29;  Dio  Cass.  liv.  25. 

*  OIL.  viii.  1439.  »  Dio  Cass.  Ixvi.  24. 

«  Vop.  Vit.  Carin.  19.  9SC.  1894,  320. 

«  CIL.  vi.  1191 ;  Mitt.  1899,  251-259.         *>  Jordan,  I.  3.  519-521. 

II  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  60. 

12  Not.  Reg.  ix;  Jordan,  I.  3.  521;  II.  534;  Gilbert,  III.  329. 


368  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

as  a  term  used  for  a  vaulted  passage  lighted  from  above.1  It 
may  have  been  a  sort  of  ambulatory  round  the  cavea  of  the 
theatre.  Until  recently  the  ruins  described  on  p.  374  have  been 
identified  with  this  Crypta,  which  was  supposed  to  be  a  two- 
storied  porticus. 

The  theatre  of  Marcellus.  The  building  of  this  theatre  was 
planned  by  Julius  Caesar,  but  carried  out  by  Augustus,  who 
purchased  the  site  from  private  owners  at  great  expense.2 
The  temple  of  Pietas  in  the  forum  Holitorium  and  other 
shrines  and  temples  were  removed  to  make  room  for  .the 
new  theatre,  which  was  named  after  Marcellus,  the  adopted 
son  of  Augustus,  who  died  in  23  B.C.,  and  dedicated  in  13 
B.C.  (or,  according  to  Pliny,  in  11  B.C.).  8  The  stage  portion 
was  restored  by  Vespasian,4  and  Alexander  Severus  is  said  to 
have  wished  to  restore  the  whole  building ; 5  but  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  edifice  must  have  begun  as  early  as  360  A.D.,  for 
some  of  its  stone  blocks  were  then  taken  out  to  be  used  in  re- 
pairing the  pons  Cestius.6  From  1086,  for  nearly  two  centuries, 
the  structure  was  occupied  by  the  Pierleoni  family  as  a  medi- 
eval stronghold.  In  1386  it  came  into  possession  of  the 
Savelli,  and  in  1712  into  that  of  the  Orsini.7  The  present 
palazzo  Orsini  stands  upon  the  stage  and  a  large  part  of  the 
cavea  of  the  old  theatre. 

The  theatre  is  near  the  Tiber,  between  it  and  the  southwest 
end  of  the  Capitoline,  the  stage  being  toward  the  river,  and 
the  main  axis  running  north-northeast  and  south-southwest. 
It  was  built  of  travertine  for  the  most  part,  but  the  inside 
was  covered  with  stucco  and  marble.  This  same  method  may 


1  Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encydopddie,  iv.  1732;  Jordan,  I.  3.  521,  545. 

2Dio  Cass,  xliii.  49;  liii.  30;  Suet.  Aug.  29;  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  22;  Jordan, 
FUR.  28 ;  EE.  viii.  233,  285. 

8  NH.  viii.  65.  6  Lamprid.  Vit.  Alex.  Sev.  44. 

4  Suet.  Vesp.  19.  «  NS.  1886,  159. 

7  BC.  1901,  52-60  (Le  vicende  del  teatro.  II  teatro  nei  libri  di  topografia) ; 
E-  Caetani-Lovatelli,  Passegiate  nella  Roma  Antica,  Rome,  1909,  53-88. 


THE   CAMPUS   MARTIUS.  369 

have  been  employed  on  portions  of  the  exterior  also.  Part  of 
the  masonry  of  the  interior  was  of  opus  reticulatum.  Just 
off  the  piazza  Montanara,  in  the  via  del  Teatro  di  Marcello, 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  semicircular  faqade  is  still  stand- 
ing, and  in  spite  of  the  disreputable  surroundings  it  forms  one 
of  the  most  imposing  ruins  in  Rome. 

As  in  the  Colosseum,  the  exterior  of  the  cavea  was  built 
with  three  series  of  open  arcades,  one  above  another.  The 
existing  ruins  comprise  a  little  less  than  one-third  of  the  total 
semi-circumference.  The  half-columns  between  the  arches  of 
the  lower  arcade  are  of  the  Doric  order.  Above  them  is  a 
Doric  entablature  with  triglyphs  and  an  attic,  1.20  metres  high, 
the  projections  of  which  form  the  bases  of  the  half-columns  of 
the  second  Ionic  arcade.  The  entablature  above  these  columns 
consists  of  an  architrave  of  three  projecting  ledges,  with  a 
plain  frieze  and  a  cornice.  The  masonry  above  the  second  story 
is  modern,  but  there  was  undoubtedly  an  original  third  story, 
decorated  with  Corinthian  pilasters. 

The  original  level  of  the  ground  was  about  5  metres  beneath 
that  of  the  modern  street,  and  about  one-third  of  the  lower 
arcade  is  therefore  buried.  There  are  thirteen  piers  of  this 
lower  arcade  now  standing,  with  their  engaged  columns.  The 
piers  themselves  are  3  metres  wide  and  2  thick.  Immediately 
^within  these  piers  was  an  ambulatory  that  ran  entirely 
round  the  cavea,  and  from  it  spur  walls  were  built  on  radial 
lines,  which  supported  the  tiers  of  seats.  The  construction 
of  walls,  seats,  etc.,  as  well  as  of  the  exterior,  seems  to  have 
been  quite  like  that  of  the  Colosseum.  The  modern  palace 
covers  most  of  the  inner  portion  of  the  theatre,  but  a  consider- 
able section  of  the  ambulatories  and  chambers  between  the 
spur  walls  has  recently  been  made  accessible,  and  there  the 
construction  may  be  conveniently  studied.  Some  parts  of 
the  stage  lie  beneath  the  houses  in  the  via  monte  Savelli. 
From  the  statement  of  the  Curiosum,  it  is  estimated  that  this 
theatre  contained  seats  for  from  ten  to  fourteen  thousand  per- 


370  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

sons,  —  more  than  the  theatre  of  Pompeius,  although  that  was 
a  larger  building,  —  but  considerable  doubt  attaches  to  these 
estimates  of  seating  capacity.1 

Somewhere  in  region  IX,  Domitian  erected  a  building  for 
theatrical  performances  called  the  Odeum,2  in  imitation  of 
similar  buildings  in  Greece.  This  was  the  only  building  in 
the  city  which  bore  this  name.  It  was  restored  by  Trajan,3 
and  ranked  in  the  fourth  century  as  one  of  the  most  conspicu- 
ous monuments  of  Rome.  No  trace  of  it  has  ever  been  dis- 
covered, but  it  may  be  under  Monte  Giordano  (pp.  17,  365). 

We  may  mention  here  the  Athenaeum,4  a  building  somewhat 
in  the  style  of  an  amphitheatre,  which  was  erected  by  Hadrian 
for  readings,  lectures,  and  similar  purposes.  It  is  not  known 
definitely  whether  this  building  was  in  the  campus  Martius, 5 
on  the  Capitoline,  or  in  the  Velabrum.6 

Porticoes.  —  The  level  plain  of  the  campus  Martius  was 
particularly  well  adapted  to  this  characteristic  form  of  Roman 
architecture,  —  the  port icus,  —  which  conformed  to  a  general 
model,  while  varying  in  proportions  and  details.  The  portions 
consisted  of  a  covered  colonnade,  formed  by  two  or  more  rows 
of  columns,  or  a  wall  on  one  side  and  columns  on  the  other. 
Its  chief  purpose  was  to  provide  a  place  for  walking  and  loung- 
ing which  should  be  sheltered  from  storm  and  sun,  and  for 
this  reason  the  intercolumnar  spaces  were  sometimes  filled 
with  glass  or  hedges  of  box.  Within  the  porticoes  or  in 
apartments  connected  closely  with  them,  were  collections  of 
statuary,  paintings,  and  works  of  art  of  all  kinds,  as  well  as 
shops  and  bazaars.  In  some  cases  the  porticus  took  its  name 

i  EG.  1894,  320;  Jordan,  I.  3.  516.  2  Suet.  Dom.  5;  Jordan,  I.  3.  594. 

8  Dio  Cass.  Ixix.  4;  Amm.  Marcell.xvi.  10.  14. 

*  Viet.  Caes.  14;  Jul.  Cap.  Vit.  Pertin.  11 ;  Vit.  Gord.3;  Lamprid.  Vit.  Alex. 
Sew.  35;  Sid.  Apoll.  ix.  11. 

8  Richter,  Top  .2  249. 

6  Jordan,  I.  2.  61 ;  Gilbert,  III.  337 ;  O'Connor,  Bulletin  of  the  University  of 
Wisconsin,  1904,  170,  178. 


THE  CAMPUS  MARTIUS.  371 

from  some  famous  statue  or  painting,  as  the  porticus  Argonau- 
tarum  (p.  376). 

While  the  erection  of  the  first  porticus  in  the  campus 
Martius  dates  from  the  early  part  of  the  second  century  B.C., 
the  period  of  rapid  development  in  their  numbers  and  use  did 
not  begin  until  the  Augustan  era.  The  earliest  of  these 
structures  seem  to  have  been  devoted  exclusively  to  business 
purposes.  By  the  time  of  the  Antonines,  there  were  upwards 
of  a  dozen  in  region  IX,1  some  of  them  of  great  size,  and  it  was 
possible  to  walk  from  the  forum  of  Trajan  to  the  pons  Aelius 
under  a  continuous  shelter.  They  were  usually  magnificently 
decorated  and  embellished,  and  provided  with  beautiful  gar- 
dens. Lanciani 2  estimates  the  total  area  covered  by  porticoes 
and  gardens  in  the  campus  Martius  at  about  100,000  square 
metres.  The  modern  continuation  of  the  porticus  idea  may  be 
seen  in  some  European  cities,  especially  Bologna,  Munich,  and 
in  the  Rue  de  Rivoli  in  Paris. 

Within  the  limits  of  region  IX  there  were  the  following 
porticoes :  — 

(1)  The  porticus  Octavia,  built  by  Cn.  Octavius  in  168  B.C.,  to 
commemorate  a  naval  victory  over  Perseus  of  Macedonia.3    It 
was  also  called  the  porticus  Corinthia,  from  its  bronze  Corin- 
thian capitals,  which  may  have  been  the  first  instance  of  the 
use  of  this  order  in  Rome.     Augustus  restored4  this  porticus 
in  33  B.C.  and  placed  within  it  the  standards  which  he  had 
taken  from  the  Dalmatians.     It  stood  between  the  theatre  of 
Pompeius  and  the  circus  Flaminius. 

(2)  The  porticus   Metelli,  built   in   147  B.C.  by  Q.  Caecilius 
Metellus  Macedonicus,5  and  situated  between  the  circus  Fla- 
minius and  the  theatre  of  Marcellus.     It  inclosed  the  temples 
of  luppiter  Stator  and  Juno  (p.  349)  and   contained   many 
famous  works   of  art  brought   by  Metellus    from    the    east. 

i  Ann.  d.  1st.  1883,  5-22.    2  Ruins,  448.      «  Fest.  178 ;  PI.  NH.  rrdv.  13. 
4  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  3;  Dio  Cass.  xlix.  43;  Appian,  Illyr.  28. 
s  Veil.  i.  11;  ii.  1. 


372 


TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 


Some  time  after  27  B.C.1  Augustus  removed  this  porticus  and 
erected  in  its  place  the  porticus  Octaviae,2  at  the  same  time 
restoring  the  inclosed  temples. 

The  porticus  Octaviae  was  burned3  in  80  A.D.  and  restored, 
probably  by  Domitian,  and  again,  after  a  second  fire,  by  Seve- 
rus  and  Caracalla  in  203  A.D.4  It  inclosed  a  rectangular  area 


FIG.  76.  —  THE  PORTICUS  OCTAVIAE  RESTORED. 

135  metres  long  and  115  wide,  and  is  represented  on  the  Marble 
Plan.  It  consisted  of  a  colonnade  formed  by  a  double  row  of 
granite  columns,  twenty-eight  in  each  row  in  front  and  about 
forty  on  each  side.  The  main  axis  ran  northeast-southwest, 
and  the  principal  entrance  was  in  the  middle  of  the  southwest 
side.  At  the  four  corners  of  the  porticus  were  small  vaulted 
pavilions.  Within  the  inclosure  was  a  bibliotheca,5  erected  by 


1  Vitr.  iii.  2.  5.  2  guet.  Aug.  29;  Jordan,  I.  3.  541-544. 

3  Uio  Cass.  Ixvi.  24.  *  OIL.  vi.  1034;  Jordan,  FUR.  33. 

s  Plut.  Marc.  30;  Suet,  de  Oramm.  21;  GIL.  vi.  2347-2349,  4431-4433,  4435. 


THE   CAMPUS   MARTIUS.  373 

Octavia  in  memory  of  the  youthful  Marcellus,  a  curia  Octaviae,1 
where  the  Senate  sometimes  met,  and  a  so-called  schola ; 2  but  it 
is  uncertain  whether  these  different  names  were  applied  to  the 
same  building,  to  different  parts  of  the  same  building,  or  to 
entirely  distinct  structures. 

Of  this  porticus  some  ruins3  still  remain,  especially  of  the 
•main  entrance,  which  had  the  form  of  a  double  pronaos,  pro- 
jecting outward  and  inward.  Across  each  front  of  this  pronaos, 
between  the  side  walls,  were  four  Corinthian  columns  of  white 
marble,  which  supported  an  entablature  and  a  triangular  pedi- 
ment. The  entablature  and  pediment  and  two  of  the  columns 
of  the  outer  front  still  exist,  but  the  remaining  columns  were 
replaced  in  the  fifth  century  by  a  brick  arch.  Of  the  inner 
front  two  columns  and  part  of  a  third  are  standing,  with 
portions  of  entablature  and  pediment.  On  the  architrave 
is  the  inscription  which  records  the  restoration  in  203  A.D. 
The  height  of  the  shaft  of  the  columns  of  the  pronaos  is  8.60 
metres,  and  their  diameter  at  the  bottom  1.10,  and  at  the  top 
0.96  metre.  Parts  of  a  number  of  the  columns  of  the  south 
colonnade  are  also  standing,  but  their  bases  are  below  the  pres- 
ent level  of  the  ground.  Some  of  the  capitals  of  these  columns 
are  built  into  the  walls  of  houses  in  the  via  del  Teatro  di 
Marcello. 

(3)  The  porticus  Minucia,  built  by  M.  Minucius  Ruf us 4  (cos. 
110  B.C.).  This  porticus  was  double,  and  seems  to  have  consisted 
of  two  parts ;  for,  at  a  later  period,  we  are  told  that  there  were 
two  buildings,  —  the  porticus  Minucia  vetus  and  the  porticus 
Minucia  frumentaria.5  In  the  latter,  under  the  empire,  the  dis- 
tribution of  grain  tickets  to  the  proletariat  took  place ;  while 
the  former  was  a  place  for  lounging  and  for  political  assemblies. 
The  relation  between  the  porticus  vetus  and  the  porticus 

1  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  28;  DioCass.  Iv.  8. 

2  PI.  NH.  xxxv.  114;  xxxvi.  22,  29. 

»  Bull.  d.  1st.  1878,  209-219 ;  BC.  1887,  332 ;  1890,  66-67 ;  Mitt.  1889,  264-265. 
*  Veil.  ii.  8.  «  Not.  Reg.  ix ;  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  146. 


374  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

frumentaria  has  never  been  satisfactorily  explained,1  as  it  is 
expressly  stated  that  they  were  both  built  by  the  same  man 
at  the  same  time.  In  the  second  century  the  portions  seems 
to  have  served  as  one  of  the  offices  of  the  water  works  of 
the  city,  as  we  read  of  curatores  aquarum  et  Miniciae.2  Be- 
tween the  piazza  Montanara  and  the  vicolo  della  Bufala 
are  some  remains  of  a  colonnade  that  has  been  identified 
with  the  porticus  Minucia.3  Hiilsen,4  however,  rejects  this 
view,  and  thinks  that  the  remains  hitherto  universally  regarded 
as  belonging  to  the  Crypta  Balbi  (p.  367)  are  not  parts  of 
that  structure  at  all,  and  may  very  probably  belong  to  the 
porticus  Minucia.  Two  travertine  pilasters,  with  engaged 
columns  and  the  entablature,  are  built  into  the  front  of 
a  house  in  the  via  dei  Calderari,  No.  23,  and  there  are  traces 
of  a  second  row  of  columns  and  a  wall  behind.  In  the 
sixteenth  century  much  more  of  this  building  was  stand- 
ing, and  drawings  of  that  period  show  that  the  colonnade 
had  an  upper  story,  with  columns  standing  on  the  centre 
of  the  arches  below.  Blocks  of  the  travertine  pavement 
have  also  been  found.5 

(4)  The  portions  Pompei,  built  in  55  B.C.  by  Pompeius,6  at  the 
same  time  as  his  theatre.  The  porticus  adjoined  the  scena  of 
the  theatre7  and  inclosed  a  large  rectangular  court  in  which 
were  four  parallel  rows  of  columns,  its  purpose  being  to  pro- 
vide shelter  for  the  spectators  in  case  of  sudden  showers. 
The  same  provision  was  made  in  the  case  of  the  theatre  of 
Marcellus,  but  no  trace  of  that  porticus  has  been  found.  The 

1  Phil.  1870,  63-67 ;  Hirschfeld,  Romische   Verwaltungsgeschichtc,  i.   134, 
166;  Gilbert,  III.  144,  286;  BC.  1901,  182-183. 

2  GIL.  v.  7783 ;  vi.  1532 ;  Mommsen,  Staatsrecht,  iis.  1053-1054. 

8  Lanciani,  FUR.  sheet  28;  Delbriick,  Die  drei  Tempel  am  Forum  Holi- 
torium,  Rome,  1903, 1. 

*  Jordan,  I.  3,  515,  545-547. 

6  NS.  1891,  336 ;  1892,  265 ;  Mitt.  1892,  321 ;  1893,  318. 

«  Cic.  de  Fato,  8 ;  Ov.  Ars  Am.  Hi.  387 ;  Catull.  Iv.  6 ;  Gilbert,  III.  325-326. 

7  Vitr.  v.  9. 1. 


THE   CAMPUS   MARTIUS.  375 

porticus  Pom  pel  must  have  suffered  in  the  conflagrations  which 
destroyed  the  theatre,  and  have  been  restored  by  Domitian,  and 
by  Arcadius  and  Honorius  l  in  418-420  A.D.  After  a  fire  in 
the  reign  of  Carinus,  it  was  restored  by  the  prefect  of  the  city, 
Aulus  Helvius  Dionysius,  who  called  one  part  of  the  restored 
structure  porticus  lovia 2  and  the  other  porticus  Herculea,  in  honor 
of  the  emperors  Diocletian  and  Maximian.  The  central  area 
was  laid  out  as  a  garden  with  shady  walks,  and  contained  many 
works  of  art.3  The  curia  Pompei,4  in  which  Caesar  was  mur- 
dered, was  probably  an  exedra  in  this  pbrticus,  or  possibly  an 
adjoining  building.5  The  statue  of  Pompeius  which  stood 
there  was  removed  by  Augustus,6  who  walled  up  the  curia  as 
a  locus  sceleratus.  In  connection  with  this  porticus  was  one 
built  by  Augustus,  and  called  the  porticus  ad  Nationes,7  because 
it  contained  statues  representing  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
It  is  possible,  however,  that  this  was  not  a  separate  porticus, 
but  only  a  portion  added  to  the  porticus  Pompei.  No  remains 
of  the  latter  exist  above  ground,  but  its  lines  are  known  from 
earlier  discoveries,  and  some  fragments  have  been  found  in 
recent  years.8 

(5)  The  Hecatostylon.  Very  near  to  the  porticus  Pompei  was 
a  similar  structure,  called  the  Hecatostylon,  or  porticus  of  the 
hundred  columns.  This  is  not  mentioned  until  the  end  of  the 
first  century,9  but  it  may  have  been  built  by  Pompeius.  It  is 
represented  on  the  Marble  Plan  as  a  row  of  columns  on  each 
side  of  a  long  wall,  on  the  north  side  of  the  porticus  Pompei. 
It  is  therefore  veiy  doubtful  whether  the  long  piece  of  peperino 
wall  and  travertine  pavement,  which  has  been  found  between 

1  OIL.  vi.  1191,  1G76. 

2  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  146;  OIL.  vi.  255,  256;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1883,  11-12. 
s  Mart.  ii.  14.  10;  PI.  NH.  xxxv.  59, 114,  126, 132. 

*  Cic.  de  Div.  ii.  23 ;  Asc.  in  Mil.  67 ;  Gell.  xiv.  7,  and  often. 
5  Melanges,  1908,  225-228.  «  Suet.  Goes.  88;  Aug.  31. 

7  Serv.  in  Aen.  viii.  721 ;  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  41 ;  Suet.  Nero,  46. 
«  BC.  1892, 146-148;  NS.  1892,  348. 

8  Mart.  ii.  14.  9;  iii.  19. 1;  Gilbert,  III.  327;  Jordan,  I.  3.  533;  FUR.  31. 


376  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

the  piazza  del  Gesu  and  the  via  dell'  Arco  dei  Ginnasi,  can  be- 
long to  the  Hecatostylon.1 

(6)  The  portions  Philippi,  built  as  the  peribolus  of  the  temple 
of  Hercules  and  the  Muses  (p.  348),  by  L.  Marcius  Philippus, 
the  stepfather  of  Augustus,  at  the  same  time  that  he  rebuilt 
the  temple.     The  exact  date  is  not  known.     This  porticus  is 
represented  on  the  Marble  Plan,  and  is  mentioned  in  the  fourth 
century.     It  contained  some  famous  pictures,  and  hair-dressers' 
shops.2     A   few  of  its  ruins   have  been  found  in  the   piazza 
Mattei.8 

(7)  The  porticus  Argonautarum,  built  by  Agrippa  in  25  B.C. 
probably  north  of  the  Saepta.     The  name  was  given  to  the 
porticus  because  the  adventures  of  the  Argonauts  were  painted 
on  its  walls,4  and  it  has  sometimes  been  identified5  with  the 
basilica  Neptuni  (p.  378). 

(8)  The  portions  Europae,  situated  near  the  Saepta,  of  which 
the  exact  location   and   date   of  building  are  unknown.     Its 
name  was  derived  from  a  famous  painting  of  Europa  on  its 
wall.6    In  Martial's  time  this  was  one  of  the  most  popular 
lounging  places  in  Rome. 

In  the  fourth  century  a  portions  Meleagri7  is  mentioned,  but 
it  is  uncertain  whether  this  was  a  separate  porticus  or  only  a 
part  of  the  Saepta,  so  named  from  a  statue  or  painting. 

(9)  The  portions  Boni  Eventus,  either  constructed  or  restored 
in  374  A.D.  round  the  temple  of  Bonus  Eventus,8  probably  just 
west  of  the  thermae  Agrippae.    The  date  of  this  temple  is  un- 


1  NS.  1884,  103-104;  BC.  1893, 122,  189-193. 

2  PI.  NH.  xxxv.  66,  114, 144;  Ov.  Ars  Am.  iii.  168. 

a  Ann.  d.  1st.  1869,  3-12;  BC.  1890,  67;  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  506;  Jordan, 
FUR.  33. 

4  Dio  Cass.  liii.  27 ;  BC.  1883,  14,  16.  6  Jordan,  I.  3.  574-575. 

e  Mart.  ii.  14.  3,  5, 16 ;  iii.  20.  12 ;  vii.  32.  11 ;  xi.  1.  11 ;  Hulsen  (Jordan,  I. 
3.  458)  regards  this  as  only  another  name  for  the  porticus  Vipsania  (p.  477). 

7  Not.  Reg.  ix. 

8  Amm.  Marcell.  xxix.  6.  19;   BC.  1878,  212-213;   1891,  224-227;   Archivio 
della  R.  Societa  romana  di  storia  patria,  ix.  471. 


THE   CAMPUS  MARTIUS.  377 

known,  but  it  may  have  formed  a  part  of  Agrippa's  buildings, 
and  some  remains  of  an  ancient  peperino  wall,  evidently  of  a 
temple,  found  on  the  site  of  the  church  of  S.  Maria  in  Monte- 
rone,  have  been  thought  to  belong  to  it.  At  different  times 
since  the  sixteenth  century,  five  capitals  of  white  marble  of 
great  size,  1.70  metres  in  height  and  1.44  in  width,  have  been 
found  in  an  almost  straight  line  100  metres  in  length,  between 
the  church  of  S.  Maria  in  Monterone  and  the  Teatro  della  Valle. 
These  capitals  were  lying  at  an  equal  depth  beneath  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  and  undoubtedly  belonged  to  the  porticus. 

(10)  The  porticus  Maximae.  One  of  the  most  important  streets 
in  region  IX  was  that  which  led  from  the  neighborhood  of 
the  theatre  of  Balbus  to  the  pons  Aelius.  During  the  reign 
of  Gratian,  Valentinian,  and  Theodosius,  about  380  A.D.,  this 
street  was  provided  with  a  colonnade,  the  porticus  Maximae,1 
which  extended  from  the  Aelian  bridge  to  the  theatre  of  Pom- 
peius  and  connected  several  of  the  other  porticoes  in  this 
region.  Its  ruins  have  been  found  in  the  piazza  del  Pianto  and 
the  via  della  Reginella, — fragments  of  granite  columns  with 
Corinthian  capitals,  and  bases,  3.10  metres  below  the  present 
level  of  the  ground.  The  pavement  of  the  street  has  also  been 
found  at  various  points,  and  its  line  is  followed  closely  by 
the  modern  vie  di  Pescheria,  del  Pianto,  de'  Giubbonari,  de' 
Cappellari,  and  del  Banco  di  S.  Spirito. 

Several  times  in  classical  literature  a  via  Tecta  is  mentioned,2 
which  seems  to  have  connected  the  region  of  the  circus  Fla- 
minius  with  the  Tarentum.  This  direction  corresponds  with 
that  of  the  street  just  described,  and  it  may  be  that  this  street 
was  protected  in  some  way  long  before  the  porticus  Maximae 
were  built,  and  was  therefore  called  the  via  Tecta.  The  street 
described  on  p.  339,  called  via  Recta  on  Lanciani's  map,  is  some- 
times identified  with  the  via  Tecta. 

1  C'lL.  vi.  1184;  BC.  1890,  67-68;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1883,  7,  20  ff. 

2  Mart.  Hi.  5.  5;  viii.  75.  2;    Seneca,  de  Morte  Claudii,  13;    Jordan,  I.  3. 
4S5,  503 ;  II.  378 ;  Gilbert,  III.  378. 


378  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

(11)  The  Dorticus  Divorum  (divi  Vespasian!  et  Titi  ?).  See 
p.  363. 

Basilicas.  —  The  basilica  Neptuni,  which  was  restored  by  Ha- 
drian,1 was  probably  the  Hoo-aSon/iov2  that  was  burned  in  80  A.D., 
and  it  has  also  been  identified  with  the  portions  Argonautarum 
(p.  376)  of  Agrippa.3  This  identification  is  plausible  but  by 
no  means  certain,  as  both  portions  Argonautarum  and  basilica 
Neptuni  occur  in  the  Curiosum. 

Basilica  Matidiae,  basilica  Marcianae.  These  two  basilicas  were 
between  the  Pantheon,  the  north  end  of  the  Saepta,  and  the 
column  of  Aurelius.  One  of  them  was  named  from  Matidia, 
the  mother-in-law  of  Hadrian,  and  the  other  from  Marciana, 
the  sister  of  Trajan.4  They  probably  formed  one  group  with 
the  temple  of  Hadrian  (p.  360).  Some  cipollino  columns  that 
have  been  found  just  north  of  the  via  dei  Pastini,  between  the 
Pantheon  and  the  vicolo  della  Spada  d'  Orlando,  perhaps  belong 
to  one  of  them.  A  templum  divae  Matidiae 5  seems  to  have  stood 
in  the  immediate  vicinity. 

Arches.  —  Arcus  Tiberii,  arcus  Domitiani.  In  the  campus  Mar- 
tius  were  many  so-called  triumphal  arches.  Claudius  erected 
one  in  honor  of  Tiberius  near  the  theatre  of  Pompeius,  which  is 
mentioned  only  once,6  and  Domitian  another,  which  was  either 
near  the  porta  Triumphalis  or  was  a  restoration  of  this  gate 
itself  (p.  346). 

Arcus  Pietatis.  On  the  north  side  of  the  Pantheon,  probably 
in  the  line  of  the  inclosing  portions,  was  an  arch  adorned  with 
reliefs  that  represented  the  provinces,  personified,  in  the  act 


i  Spart.  Vit.  Hadr.  19.  2  Dio  Cass.  Ixvi.  24. 

8  Dio  Cass.  liii.  27;  Jordan,  I.  3.  574;  Lucas,  Zur  Geschichte  der  Nep- 
tunsbasilica  in  Rom,  Berlin,  1904. 

4  Not.  Reg.  ix;  Pol.  Silv.  545;  SO.  1883,5-16;  Mitt.  1899,  141-153;  Gilbert, 
III.  127;  Jordan,  I.  3.  575. 

«  Jordan,  I.  3.  xxiv.  6  Suet.  Claud.  11. 


THE    CAMPUS   MARTIUS.  379 

of  asking  favor  of  the  emperor.  This  arch  was  called  arcus 
Pietatis  in  the  middle  ages,  but  its  original  name  is  unknown.1 

Arcus  Gratiani  Valentiniani  et  Theodosii.  This  arch  -  stood 
directly  in  front  of  the  pons  Aelius,  spanned  the  principal 
street  of  region  IX  which  led  to  this  bridge  from  the  circus 
Flaminius,  and  formed  the  north  end  of  the  porticus  Maximae 
(p.  377).  It  was  quite  customary  to  erect  such  an  arch  at  the 
approach  to  a  bridge.  This  arch  was  built  between  379  and 
383  A.D.,  and  seems  to  have  stood  until  the  fourteenth  century. 

Arcus  Arcadii  Honorii  et  Theodosii.  This  arch  was  erected  in 
405  A.D.  to  commemorate  the  victories3  won  by  Stilicho  under 
Arcadius,  Honorius,  and  Theodosius.  It  was  certainly  near  the 
arch  just  mentioned,  and  probably  spanned  the  approach  to  the 
pons  Neronianus.  (For  the  arches  on  the  via  Lata,  see  p.  479.) 

Columns.  —  There  were  two  columns  like  that  of  Trajan 
in  region  IX.  The  first,  columna  Antonini  Pii,  was  erected  in 
memory  of  Antoninus  Pius  by  his  two  adopted  sons,  Marcus 
Aurelius  and  Lucius  Verus.  It  stood4  a  little  west  of  the 
present  House  of  Parliament,  on  the  edge  of  the  slight  eleva- 
tion known  as  monte  Citorio  (p.  17).  It  had  the  same  orien- 
tation as  the  Ustrinum,  from  which  it  was  separated  by  a 
distance  of  25  metres.  The  column  was  a  monolith  of  red 
granite,  14.75  metres  high,  and  stood  on  a  pedestal  of  white 
marble.  As  represented  on  a  coin 5  of  Antoninus,  it  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  grating.  Previous  to  the  eighteenth  century  the 
base  of  the  column  was  entirely  buried,  but  the  lower  part  of 
the  shaft  itself  projected  about  6  metres  above  the  ground. 
In  1703  the  base  was  excavated,  but  the  shaft  lay  in  the  piazza 
Colonna  for  many  years,  until  it  was  used  to  repair  the  obelisk 
in  the  same  piazza.  Three  of  the  sides  of  the  pedestal,  which 
is  now  in  the  Vatican  gardens,  are  covered  with  reliefs.6  The 

i  Jordan,  1.  3.  590.  *  GIL.  vi.  1184;  Jordan,  I.  3.  598;  II.  413. 

»  OIL.  vi.  1196;  Jordan,  II.  413;  Richter,  Top*'2Sl. 
*  Mitt.  1889,  41-48 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  603.  6  Cohen,  Ant.  Pius,  353. 

6  Strong,  Sculpture,  270-273. 


380  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

principal  one,  representing  the  apotheosis  of  Antoninus  and 
Faustina,  was  turned  toward  the  Ustrinum.  The  other  two 
represent  soldiers  on  the  march.  The  fourth  side  bears  the 
dedicatory  inscription.1 

In  close  connection  with  the  column  was  the  Ustrinum 
Antoninorum,  or  crematory  of  the  Antonines.  There  is  no  men- 
tion of  this  building  in  ancient  literature  ;  but  the  excavations 
of  1703  brought  enough  of  its  ruins  to  light  to  afford  a  satis- 
factory idea  of  its  character.2  It  consisted  of  three  square  in- 
closures,  one  within  another.  The  two  inner  inclosure  walls 
were  of  travertine  ;  the  outer  consisted  of  a  travertine  curb,  on 
which  stood  pillars  of  the  same  material  with  an  iron  grating 
between  them.  The  innermost  inclosure,  which  formed  the 
base  of  the  pyre,  was  13  metres  square,  the  second  inclosure  23, 
and  the  outer  30  metres  square.  A  free  space,  3  metres  wide, 
was  left  between  the  first  and  second  walls  and  between  the 
second  and  third.  The  entrance  was  on  the  south.  Remains,3 
which  are  probably  of  a  similar  ustrinum,  have  recently  been 
found  a  little  to  the  northeast  in  the  via  delle  Missione. 

The  other  column,  columna  M.  Aurelii  Antonini,  which  was  also 
called  columna  cochlis  and  columna  centenaria  dim  Marci,  or 
divorum  Marci  et  Faustinae,  stood  on  the  west  side  of  the  via 
Lata,  opposite  the  campus  Agrippae,  and  was  erected  sometime 
before  193  A.D.  to  commemorate  the  victories  of  Marcus  Aure- 
lius  over  the  Dacians  and  Marcomanni  in  172-175  A.D.* 

It  is  a  direct  imitation  of  the  column  of  Trajan,  the  height 
of  shaft  and  capital  being  the  same,  100  Roman  feet.  The 
shaft  itself,  26.50  metres  in  height  and  3.96  in  diameter,  is 
composed  of  twenty-six  rings  of  Luna  marble.  It  is  hollow, 


1  OIL.  vi.  1004.  2  Mitt.  1889,  48-64. 

3  N~S.  1907,  525-528;    1909,10-11;    CQ.  1908,  148;    5(7.1907,326-329;   1908, 
86;  1909,  113. 

4  Viet.  Caes.  16 ;  Epit.  16 ;  Not.  Reg.  ix ;  Petersen,  von  Domaszewski,  Cald- 
erini,  Die  Marcussaule  auf  Piazza  Colonna  in  Rom,  Munich,  1896;  Jordan, 
I.  3.  605-607;  Strong,  Sculpture,  273-291;  Arch.  Am.  1896,  2-18;  PBS.  v.  181. 


THE   CAMPUS  MARTIUS.  381 

and  contains  a  spiral  staircase  of  two  hundred  and  three  steps. 
The  interior  is  lighted  by  fifty-six  rectangular  loopholes.  The 
capital  is  of  the  Doric  order,  and  was  surmounted  originally 
by  statues  of  Marcus  Aurelius  and  Faustina.  These  disap- 
peared at  some  unknown  date,  and  the  present  bronze  statue 
of  St.  Paul  was  erected  by  Sixtus  V.  The  pedestal  of  the 
column  is  of  great  height,  for  a  considerable  part  of  it  still 
rises  above  the  present  level  of  the  ground,  which  in  turn  is 
4.75  metres  above  the  ancient  travertine  pavement. 

The  exterior  of  the  column  is  adorned  with  reliefs,  arranged 
on  a  spiral  band  which  returns  upon  itself  twenty-one  times. 
These  reliefs  represent  scenes  in  the  campaigns  of  Aurelius 
and  correspond  to  those  on  the  column  of  Trajan,  but  are  far 
inferior  to  them  in  execution,  and  have  been  much  injured  by 
fire  and  earthquake.-  The  remains  of  the  original  reliefs  of  the 
pedestal  were  chiselled  off  by  Sixtus  V,  who  added  the  present 
marble  decoration,  some  of  which  was  taken  from  the  Septi- 
zonium. 

It  is  probable  that  the  temple  of  Aurelius,  aedes  divi  Antonini, 
stood  just  west  of  this  column,  in  the  same  relation  to  it  as  the 
temple  of  Trajan  to  his  column,  and  that  temple  and  column 
were  surrounded  by  a  porticus ;  but  no  traces  of  this  temple 
have  been  found.  Near  the  column  was  a  lodge,  built  in  193 
A.D.  by  Adrastus,  procurator  columnar  centenariae  divi  Mard, 
at  the  expense  of  the  government.  The  inscription *  which 
records  this  transaction  has  been  preserved. 

The  Obeliscus  August!.  —  Augustus  brought  two  obelisks2 
from  Heliopolis  to  Rome,  one  of  which  was  set  up  in  the  Circus 
Maximus  and  the  other  in  the  campus  Martius,  between  the 
ara  Pacis  Augustae  and  the  columna  Antonini  Pii.  The  latter 
is  the  one  now  standing  in  the  piazza  di  monte  Citorio.  The 

1  OIL.  vi.  1585  a,  b. 

2  Amm.  Marcell.  xvii.  4. 12-23;  Jordan,  II.  181-184;  Marucchi,  Gli  obelischi 
egiziani  di  Roma,  2d  ed.,  Rome,  1898. 


382  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

inscriptions l  on  the  pedestals  of  the  two  obelisks  are  identical, 
and  show  that  they  were  set  up  in  the  year  10  B.C. 

The  obelisk  of  the  campus  Martius  is  of  red  granite,  21.79 
metres  in  height  and  covered  with  hieroglyphics.  The  traver- 
tine base  has  been  much  restored,  and  the  column  itself  re- 
paired with  fragments  of  stone  from  the  columna  Antonini. 
•  Augustus  employed  this  obelisk  as  the  gnomon,  or  needle,  of 
a  great  sun-dial,  or  solarium,2  formed  by  laying  an  extensive 
pavement  of  white  marble  on  the  north  side  of  the  obelisk,  on 
which  pavement  the  lines  were  indicated  by  strips  of  gilt  metal 
inlaid  in  the  marble.  Portions  of  this  pavement,  of  the  gilt 
lines,  and  of  figures  of  animals  representing  the  signs  of  the 
Zodiac,  were  found  at  various  times  in  the  fifteenth  and  six- 
teenth centuries,  but  they  were  again  covered  and  are  still 
buried  beneath  the  modern  buildings.  The  obelisk  itself  was 
thrown  down  at  some  unknown  date,  and  although  it  was  dis- 
covered under  the  ground  in  1512,3  it  was  not  excavated  until 
1750,  nor  set  up  until  1789.  The  marble  pavement  must  have 
extended  about  110  metres  in  an  east  and  west  direction,  and 
something  more  than  half  that  distance  north  and  south. 

The  Mausoleum  August!.  —  During  the  first  century  B.o.4  it 
had  become  customary  to  grant  the  privilege  of  burial  in  the 
campus  Martius  to  persons  of  distinction,  by  special  decree  of 
the  senate.  With  this  precedent  in  view,  Augustus  erected  in 
28  B.C.,  in  the  most  northerly  part  of  the  campus,  a  mausoleum 
for  the  imperial  family,  the  remains  of  which  still  exist.5  This 
mausoleum,  called  also  the  tumulus  Caesarum,  or  tumulus  luli- 
orum,6  consisted  of  a  circular  drum,  and  above  this  a  tumulus 
or  cone-shaped  mound,  planted  with  evergreens  and  surmounted 


i  OIL.  vi.  701-702.  2  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  72.  »  PBS.  ii.  3. 

*  Richter,  Top. *  249-250 ;  Gilbert,  III.  305-307. 

5  Strabo,  v.  3.  8  (236) ;  Suet.  Aug.  100;  Jordan,  I.  3.  614-621;   II.   435-436; 
Altmann,  Rnndbauten,  46-49;  Sabatini,  II  Mausoleo  di  Augusta,  Rome,  1907. 

6  Tac.  Ann.  iii.  9;  xvi.  6. 


THE    CAMPUS   MARTIUS.  383 

by  a  colossal  bronze  statue  of  Augustus.  The  circular  portion, 
66.55  metres  in  diameter,  was  composed  of  concentric  ring-walls 
of  concrete,  faced  with  opus  reticulatum  and  covered  with 
stucco  or  white  marble.  The  entrance  was  on  the  south,  and 
the  passageway  led  directly  to  a  central  chamber,  which  was 
the  tomb  of  Augustus  himself.  Between  the  outer  and  the 
second  wall  was  a  row  of  twelve  chambers,  designed  for  other 
members  of  the  imperial  family.1  On  the  outer  wall  of  the 
mausoleum,  on  each  side  of  the  entrance,  were  fastened  the 
two  bronze  tablets2  on  which  were  inscribed  the  Res  Gestae 
(p.  2),  and  in  front  was  a  portico  flanked  by  two  obelisks.3  One 
of  these  obelisks  was  dug  up  in  1527,  and  in  1587  it  was  set 
up  in  the  piazza  dell'  Esquilino.  The  other  was  found  in  1781 
and  erected  in  the  piazza  del  Quirinale.  The  latter  is  14.40 
metres  in  height,  the  former  somewhat  less. 

In  this  mausoleum 4  were  placed  the  ashes  of  Augustus,  his 
nephew  Marcellus,  Lucius  and  Gaius  Caesar,  Germanicus,  Livia, 
Tiberius,  Claudius,  and  some  other  members  of  the  family.  The 
remains  of  Vespasian,  Titus,  and  the  latter's  daughter  Julia, 
which  were  placed  here  first,  were  afterward  removed  to  the 
temple  of  the  gens  Flavia  (p.  504)  on  the  Quirinal. 

In  410  Alaric  plundered  the  mausoleum,  and  in  the  middle 
ages  it  was  used  as  a  fortress  by  the  Colonna.  In  the  sixteenth 
century  the  Soderini  converted  it  into  a  sort  of  terrace  garden. 
The  outer  wall  of  the  drum,  about  72  metres  in  diameter,  now 
forms  part  of  a  concert  hall,  and  the  rest  of  the  structure  has 
been  almost  entirely  transformed  or  built  over.5  Whether  this 
drum  stood  on  a  square  foundation,  like  that  of  the  mausoleum 
of  Hadrian,  is  uncertain. 


1  BC.  1882,  152-154;  1885,  89;  1895,  301-308. 

2  Suet.  Aug.  101.  *  Aram.  Marcell.  xvii.  4. 16. 

<Cf.  Richter,  Top*  250-251,  and  Hirschfeld,  Die  Kaiser  lichen  Grabstatten 
in  Rom,  Abhandlungen  der  kaiserl.  Akad.  zu  Berlin,  1886, 1149  ft.,  for  classi- 
cal references.  Inscriptions,  OIL.  vi.  884-895. 

6  BC.  1895,  301-308. 


384  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

The  Saepta  lulia. —  We  are  told l  that  Julius  Caesar  planned 
to  replace  the  existing  Saepta  (p.  345)  by  a  marble  structure 
inclosed  by  a  portions  one  mile  in  extent.  This  work,  which 
Caesar  only  began,  was  continued  by  Lepidus  and  finished  by 
Agrippa  in  26  B.C.2  It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  build- 
ing, as  completed,  was  not  built  exactly  on  the  lines  laid 
down  by  Caesar,  for  a  part  at  least  of  the  area  had  been 
taken  up  by  the  thermae  of  Agrippa.  The  new  Saepta  was 
injured  by 'fire  in  80  A.D.,  restored  by  Domitian,  and  afterward 
by  Hadrian.3 

The  diminishing  importance  of  the  comitia,  and  the  final 
transfer  of  elections  from  the  people  to  the  senate  during  the 
reign  of  Tiberius,  must  have  brought  about  great  changes  in  the 
use,  and  perhaps  in  the  form,  of  the  restored  Saepta.  Agrippa 
adorned  it  with  statues;  Caligula  and  Claudius  exhibited 
gladiatorial  shows  in  the  building;4  and  the  former  also  con- 
structed a  naumachia5  within  its  precincts.  In  Domitian's 
time  it  contained  a  bazaar,  where  the  most  expensive  luxu- 
ries in  Home  were  for  sale.6  It  is  mentioned  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  third  century,7  but  of  its  later  history  nothing  is 
known. 

The  Saepta  is  partly  represented  on  the  Marble  Plan,8  and 
from  this  and  the  remains  which  have  been  discovered,  a  re- 
construction of  the  building  in  its  main  lines  is  possible.  It 
was  a  rectangular  portions,9  extending  along  the  west  side  of  the 
via  Flaminia,  from  the  aqua  Virgo  on  the  north  to  the  modern 
via  di  S.  Marco  on  the  south,  a  distance  of  440  metres  (1500 
Roman  feet).  Its  depth  was  60  metres.  This  portions  was 
built  of  travertine  and  was  septuple  in  form,  —  that  is,  there 


1  Cic.  ad  Att.  iv.  16.  14.  6  Dio  Cass.  lix.  10. 

2  Dio  Cass.  liii.  23.  «  Mart.  ii.  14.  5 ;  ix.  59;  x.  80. 

8  Dio  Cass.  Ixvi.  24 ;  Spart.  Vit.  Hadr.  19.        *  Lamprid.  Vit.  Alex.  Sev.  26. 
4  Suet.  Cal.  18;  Claud.  21.  8  Jordan,  FUR.  34-36. 

9  BC.    1893,    119-142:    Gilbert,    III.   174-176;    Mon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  471-473 ; 
Jordan,  I.  3,  558-562. 


THE   CAMPUS   MARTIUS. 


385 


were  eight  longitudinal  rows  of 
columns  and  piers.  The  first  row 
along  the  via  Flaminia  was  orna- 
mented with  a  balustrade.  Re- 
mains of  this  portions  have  been 
found  at  various  points,  especially 
beneath  S.  Maria  in  via  Lata,  the 
palazzo  Doria,  and  the  palazzo 
Bonaparte,  the  most  southerly 
traces  being  beneath  the  palazzo 
Venezia  and  S.  Marco.  Whether 
the  porticus  extended  as  far  south 
as  the  via  di  S.  Marco  is  disputed, 
Lanciani  asserting  that  its  limit 
in  this  direction  is  marked  by  the 
pavement  of  an  ancient  street 
found  just  south  of  the  remains 
which  are  beneath  the  church  of 
S.  Marco.  If  the  porticus  ex- 
tended as  far  as  the  via  di  S. 
Marco,  there  was  room  for  eighty 
latitudinal  aisles  between  the  short 
rows  of  columns,  a  number  which 
suggests  the  eighty  centuries  of 
the  first  class  of  the  comitia 
centuriata. 

It  is  evident  from  the  Marble 
Plan  that  this  porticus  constituted 
the  Saepta  in  the  third  century ; 
but  whether  it  is  the  porticus 
which  Lepidus  built,  or  whether 
it  represents  in  any  considerable 
degree  the  original  Saepta  of 
Agrippa,  is  an  open  question. 
Manifestly  no  naumachia  could  be 


386  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

constructed  within  this  portions,  nor  conld  gladiatorial  shows 
have  been  exhibited  here.  We  must,  therefore,  assume  that 
west  of  it  was  an  open  area  belonging  to  the  Saepta,  which 
may  or  may  not  have  been  inclosed,  but  which  after  the  fire  in 
80  A.D.  was  used  for  entirely  different  purposes.  Even  remains 
of  private  houses  have  been  found  within  its  limits  under  the 
church  of  S.  Ignazio. 

The  Diribitorium.  —  Agrippa  also  began  the  erection  of  a 
building  in  which  the  votes  cast  by  the  people  in  the  Saepta 
could  be  counted  (diribere  =  dis-hdbere),  and  which  was  there- 
fore called  the  Diribitorium.  This  building  was  finished  by 
Augustus  in  7  B.C.,  and  was  famous  for  the  construction  of 
the  roof  of  its  central  hall,  which  rested  on  beams  more  than  100 
feet  long,  without  pillars  or  supports  of  any  kind.1  For  many 
years  it  was  the  widest  roof  of  this  sort  in  Some,  but  it  fell  dar- 
ing Caligula's  reign  and  could  not  be  restored  in  the  same  form. 
In  80  A.D.  the  Diribitorium  was  burned,  but  it  must  have 
been  rebuilt,  for  it  is  mentioned  as  existing  in  the  third 
century. 

It  has  usually  been  supposed  that  while  the  exact  location 
of  the  Diribitorium  was  unknown,  it  was  a  separate  building 2 
near  the  Saepta ;  but  there  is  much  to  be  said  in  support  of  a 
recent  theory,  according  to  which  Diribitorium  was  the  name 
applied  to  the  second  story  of  the  Saepta.3 

-•  Thermae.  — The  first  of  the  thermae,  or  great  public  baths  of 
Home,  were  the  thermae  Agrippae,  built  by  Agrippa 4  in  25  B.C., 
at  the  same  time  with  the  Pantheon ;  but  as  the  aqua  Virgo 
which  supplied  these  baths  with  water  was  not  completed  un- 
til 19  B.C.,  the  baths  themselves  can  hardly  have  been  opened 
before  that  date.  Agrippa  seems  to  have  called  these  thermae 

1  Dio  Cass.  Iv.  8;  lix.  7;  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  102  ;  xvi.  201. 

2  Dio  Cass.  Ixvj.  24 ;  Suet.  Claud.  18. 

a  EC.  1893,  119-141 ;  Jordan,  I.  3. 562-564.         *  Dio  Cass.  liii.  27 ;    liv.  29. 


THE   CAMPUS   MARTIUS.  387 

by  the  name  Laconicum  (sc.  balineum),  and  he  adorned  the 
structure  with  many  works  of  art.1  They  were  burned  in  80 
A.D.,  and  restored 2  either  by  Titus  or  Domitian,  and  afterward 
by  Hadrian3  between  115  and  125.  A  later  restoration  was 
carried  out  by  Constans  and  Constantius  *  in  344-345  A.D. 

From  a  fragment  of  the  Marble  Plan  recently  found,  the  ex- 
cavations 5  of  recent  years,  and  the  drawings  and  notes  of  archi- 
tects of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  much  of  the  building  was 
still  standing,  it  seems  clear  that  the  main  part  of  the  original 
thermae  of  Agrippa  occupied  a  rectangular  area,  from  100  to 
120  metres  north  and  south  and  from  80  to  100  east  and  west. 
Just  north  of  the  centre  of  the  building  was  a  circular  hall, 
about  25  metres  in  diameter,  part  of  the  roof  of  which,  called 
the  Arco  della  Ciambella,  is  standing  and  may  be  seen  above 
the  houses  in  the  street  of  the  same  name.  This  original 
structure  was  then  extended  toward  the  north,  possibly  by 
Agrippa  himself,  and  a  series  of  halls  built  that  reached  the 
Pantheon.  Of  these  halls  the  only  one  still  visible  is  that  di- 
rectly adjoining  the  Pantheon,  rectangular  in  shape,  45  metres 
long  and  19  wide,  with  an  apse  9  metres  in  diameter  in  the 
north  wall.  Along  each  of  the  longer  sides  stood  four  columns 
of  pavonazzetto  and  red  granite.  Between  the  first  and  second 
and  the  third  and  fourth  columns  on  each  side  were  three 
niches,  two  rectangular  and  one  semicircular.  Kound  the  hall 
ran  a  remarkably  well  executed  frieze.  Fragments  of  this  and 
also  of  the  marbles  with  which  the  hall  was  lined  are  still 
in  situ.  The  hall  was  paved  with  slabs  of  marble,  especially 
pavonazzetto  and  nero  Africano.  The  walls  are  only  1.75 
metres  in  thickness,  and  hence  it  is  probable  that  the  hall 


i  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  62;  xxxv.  26;  xxxvi.  189. 

a  Dio  Cass.  Ixvi.  24;  Mart.  iii.  20. 15. 

s  Spart.  Vit.  Hadr.  19.  <  GIL.  vi.  1165. 

»NS.  1881,  276-281;  1882,  347-359;  1900,  633;  BC.  1901,  3-19;  Mitt.  1905, 
75;  Jordan,  I.  3.  576-580;  Rivoira,  Lombardic  Architecture,  I.  66;  and  es- 
pecially Hiilseu,  Die  Thermen  des  Ayrippa,  Rome,  1910. 


388  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

had  only  a  wooden  roof  or  none  at  all.  The  cross-walls 
which  have  been  found  between  the  drum  of  the  Pantheon 
and  the  north  wall  of  this  hall  date  from  Hadrian's  time,  and 
as  they  are  not  connected  with  either  structure,  but  simply 
abut  against  them,  it  is  clear  that  they  were  intended  to  serve 
as  buttresses,  perhaps  in  order  that  a  heavy  roof  might  then 
be  put  over  the  hall. 

Adjoining  the  thermae,  Agrippa  constructed  a  stagnum,1  or 
artificial  pool,  of  considerable  size,  which  probably  extended 
west  from  the  thermae  as  far  as  the  present  palazzo  Capranica. 
This  stagnum  was  bordered  by  the  horti  Agrippae,  gardens  in 
which  were  many  treasures  of  art.  An  open  channel,  called 
the  Euripus,  flowed  through  the  gardens  to  the  Tiber  and  doubt- 
less served  as  an  outlet  for  the  stagnum.  The  total  area  thus 
occupied  by  baths,  gardens,  and  pool,  must  have  measured 
about  250  metres  north  and  south  and  about  200  east  and  west. 

The  second  bathing  establishment  in  Rome,  the  thermae 
Neronianae,  was  built  by  Nero 2  in  64  A.D.,  after  the  great  fire. 
It  was  near  the  Pantheon  and  is  spoken  of  as  remarkable  for 
its  magnificence.3  For  some  unknown  reason  these  baths  were 
entirely  rebuilt  by  Alexander  Severus  about  228  A.D.,  and  were 
henceforth  known  also  as  the  thermae  Alexandrinae.4  They 
occupied  a  rectangular  area  extending  from  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  Pantheon  to  the  stadium  of  Domitian  (piazza 
Navona),  and  although  nothing  remains  above  ground  except 
a  few  portions  of  walls  built  into  the  palazzo  Madama,  excava- 
tions5 made  at  various  times  within  this  area  have  brought 
to  light  architectural  fragments  of  great  beauty  and  value. 

1  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  37;  Ov.  ex  Pont.  i.  8.37-38;  Strabo,  xiii.  I.  19  (590) ;  Sen. 
Epist.  83.  5;  NS.  1881,  281-282;  Gilbert,  III.  293-294. 

2  Suet.  Nero,  12.    Hiilsen  identifies  the  thermae  with  the  gymnasium,  and 
therefore  assigns  their  erection  to  62  B.C.  (Jordan,  I.  3.  590-592). 

8  Stat.  Silv.  i.  5.  62 ;  Mart.  vii.  34.  5. 

4  Lamprid.  Vit.  Alex.  25;  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  147;  Cassiodor,  Far.  ii.  39; 
Gilbert,  III.  298. 

6  NS.  1881,  270-273;  1882,  412^13;  1883,81,130;  1892,265;  BC.  1907,330. 


THE  CAMPUS  MARTIUS.  389 

Among  them  are  four  columns  of  red  granite,  two  of  which 
were  used  in  the  restoration  of  the  pronaos  of  the  Pantheon ; 
an  enormous  basin  for  a  fountain,  6.70  metres  in  diameter, 
cut  from  a  single  block  of  red  granite,  with  fragments  of  sev- 
eral others;  white  marble  capitals;  and  fragments  of  columns 
of  porphyry,  pavonazzetto,  and  gray  granite. 

Julius  Caesar  constructed  an  artificial  lake,  the  naumachia 
Oaesaris l  in  the  campus  Martius,  in  minore  Codeta,  and  exhibited 
there  sham  naval  battles  on  a  great  scale.  This  lake  was  filled 
up 2  in  43  B.C.  in  consequence  of  an  epidemic  in  the  city,  and 
no  traces  have  been  found  to  indicate  its  exact  position. 

Stabula  IV  factionum.  Near  the  circus  Flaminius  were  the 
stables 3  of  the  different  racing  companies  (factiones)  of  chariot- 
eers. In  the  first  century  of  the  empire  there  were  four  of 
these  factiones,  distinguished  by  their  colors,  albata,  russea, 
veneta,  and  prasina.  Two  more,  aurata  and  pwpurea,  were 
added  by  Domitian,  but  did  not  last  long.  According  to  the 
Notitia,  there  were  eight  stables  in  the  fourth  century,  while 
the  Curiosum  gives  the  number  as  six.  Without  doubt  they 
were  all  in  the  same  region  and  near  each  other,  but  the  cer- 
tain traces  thus  far  discovered  —  a  dedicated  pedestal  and  an 
inscribed  water  pipe — belong  to  the  stable  of  the  green 
(prasina)  company,  situated  close  to  the  church  of  S.  Lorenzo 
in  Damaso.4 

The  Forum  Holitorium.  —  Just  outside  of  that  part  of  the 
Servian  wall  which  connected  the  Capitoline  and  the  Tiber  was 
the  forum  Holitorium,  or  vegetable  market,  within  the  limits 
of  region  IX.  Originally  an  open  market-place,5  this  area  was 

*  Dio  Cass.  Ixiii.  23 ;  Suet.  Caes.  39 ;  Gilbert,  III.  334.  Cf .  Appian,  Bell.  Civ. 
ii.  102. 

«  Dio  Cass.  Ixv.  17 ;  Suet.  Caes.  44. 

«  Cf.  Suet.  Cal.  55  ;  Tac.  Hist.  ii.  94;  Dio  Cass.  lix.  14. 

*BC.  1886,  343;  1887,  10,  263-264;  1900,  333-334;  OIL.  vi.  10058;  XT.  7254; 
Gilbert,  III.  321;  Hon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  545. 

8  Varro,  LL.  v.  146. 


390  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

inclosed  in  process  of  time  by  various  public  buildings  —  the 
theatre  of  Marcellus  on  the  west,  a  building1  sometimes  identi- 
fied with  the  porticus  Minucia  (p.  373)  on  the  north,  and  at 
least  four  temples,  which  were  built  on  the  side  toward  the 
river.  Thus  its  original  area,  which  had  extended  to  the  Tiber, 
was  considerably  diminished.  It  was  connected  with  the  vicus 
lugarius  and  the  forum  Boarium  by  the  porta  Carmentalis  and 
the  porta  Flumentana.  By  the  second  century  B.C.  this  market- 
place had  been  paved,  and  considerable  fragments  of  its  traver- 
tine pavement 2  have  been  found  between  the  church  of  S.  Nicola 
in  Carcere  and  the  piazza  Montanara,  extending  over  a  distance 
of  some  90  metres.  On  one  side  of  this  pavement  some  remains 
of  a  porticus  have  also  been  found.3  The  porta  Carmentalis 
probably  took  its  name  from  a  shrine  or  altar  of  Oarmenta,4 
originally  a  divinity  of  the  fountains  and  therefore  sometimes 
confused  with  the  Camenae.  This  altar  was  probably  in  or 
near  the  forum  Holitorium. 

Four  temples  are  spoken  of  as  having  been  built  in  this 
forum. 

(1)  The  temple  of  lanus,5  erected  in  260  B.C.  by  C.  Duilius, 
and  restored  in  17  A.D.  by  Tiberius.     The  senate  was  forbidden 
to  meet  here,  because  the  decree  of  the  senate  authorizing  the 
ill-fated  Fabii  to  march  against  Veii  was  passed  in  a  temple  of 
Janus. 

(2)  The  temple  of  Spes,6  built  by  A.  Atilius  Calatinus  during 
the  first  Punic  war,  burned  in  213  B.C.,  rebuilt  in  212,r  burned 
again  in  the  time  of  Augustus,  and  restored  by  Gerinanicus  in 

17  A.D.8 

(3)  The  temple  of  luno  Sospita,9  vowed  in  197  B.C.  by  C.  Cor- 


i  Jordan,  I.  3.  515  *  BC.  1875,  173.  «  NS.  1879, 314. 

*  Solin.  i.  13;  Serv.  in  Aen.  viii.  337;  Dionys.  i.  32  ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  507. 

«  OIL.  i.«p.  325;  Tac.  Ann.  ii.  49;  Fest.  285;  Gilbert,  I.  260-265;  III.  380. 

6  Gic.  de  Legg.  ii.  28;  de  Nat.  Qwr.  ii.  61;  Tac.  Ann.  ii.  49. 

'  Liv.  xxiv.  47;  xxv.  7.  '  Dio  Cass.  1.  10;  Tac.  loc.  cit. 

»  Liv.  xxxii'.  30;  xxxiv.  53, 


THE  CAMPUS  MARTIUS. 


391 


nelius  Cethegus,  dedicated  in  194,  and  restored l  by  L.  Julius 
Caesar  in  90  B.C. 

(4)  The  temple  of  Pietas,  vowed  in  191  B.C.2  by  M'.  Acilius 
Glabrio,  dedicated  in  181,  and  destroyed  by  Augustus  in  order 
to  make  room  for  the  theatre  of  Marcel  1  us.8 

Beneath  the  present  church  of  S.  Nicola  in  Carcere  are  the 
ruins  of  three  temples 4  which  stand  side  by  side  and  have  the 
same  orientation.  Their  facades  are  toward  the  east,  —  that 
is,  toward  the  forum,  —  and  the  architectural  fragments  are  of 
travertine,  tufa,  and  peperino,  with  no  traces  of  marble,  except 
in  the  late  restorations.  They  must  therefore  be  assigned  to 
the  period  of  the  republic. 

The  central  and  largest  temple  is  about  30  metres  long  and 
10  wide,  of  the  Ionic  order  and  peripteral.  Three  of  its 
fluted  columns  of  travertine,  8.70 
metres  in  height  and  0.90  metre  in 
diameter,  are  built  into  the  faqade 
of  the  church ;  while  portions  of  the 
cella  wall  and  of  other  columns  with 
their  architrave  have  been  built  into 
other  parts  of  the  church.  The 
temple  north  of  this  is  also  Ionic, 
hexastyle,  and  peripteral  except  at 
the  back,  and  of  its  columns  six  are 
standing,  0.70  metre  in  diameter, 

also  built  into  the  church  walls.  The  third  temple,  the 
smallest  of  the  three,  is  of  the  Doric  order,  hexastyle  and 
peripteral.  Some  of  its  columns  are  also  standing.  It  is 
probable  that  these  existing  temples  are  three  of  the  four 


i»e»  •  •« 


FIG.  78.  —  PLAN  OF  THB 

THREE  TEMPLES  BENEATH 

S.  NICOLA  IN  CARCERE. 


1  Cic.  de  Div.  i.  99;  Gilbert,  III.  82,  430. 

2  Liv.  xl.  34;  Fest.  209;  PI.  NH.  vii.  121 ;  Val.  Max.  ii.  5.  1  (v.  4.  7). 
•  Dio  Cass.  xliii.  49. 

<Cf.  Lanciani,  Ruins,  513-514;  Delbruck,  Die  drei  Tempel  am  Fornin 
Holitorium,  Rome,  1903;  Hulsen,  Der  dorischer  Tempel  bei  S.  Nicola  in 
Carcere,  Mitt.  1906, 169-192;  Jordan,  I.  3.  507-514. 


392  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

described  above  and  that  the  smallest,  built  as  it  is  of 
travertine,  is  the  latest,  that  of  luno  Sospita.  The  central 
temple  then  would  be  assigned  to  Spes,  and  the  third  to 
lanus. 

Extending  south  from  these  temples,  under  the  modern  via 
della  Bocca  della  Verita,  almost  to  the  Cloaca  Maxima,  the 
ancient  pavement  of  a  street  has  been  found,  which  seems  to 
have  been  the  principal  thoroughfare  in  a  north-south  direc- 
tion, and  to  have  connected  the  circus  Flarninius  with  the 
forum  Boarium. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE   DISTRICT   BETWEEN   THE   FORUM,  THE 
TIBER,   AND   THE   CIRCUS   MAXIMUS. 
REGIONS  VIII  AND  XI. 

BETWEEN  the  Forum,  the  Capitoline,  the  Servian  wall,  the 
Tiber,  the  valley  of  the  Circus  Maximus,  and  the  Palatine  lay 
an  irregularly  shaped  district,  which  belonged  for  the  most  part 
to  the  eleventh  region  of  Augustus,  but  also  included  a  small 
part  of  the  eighth.  In  this  district  were  two  open  market- 
places, the  Velabrum  and  the  forum  Boarium. 

The  Velabrum l  was  bounded  approximately  by  the  Forum 
on  the  north,  the  slope  of  the  Palatine  and  the  vicus  Tuscus  on 
the  east,  and  the  district  traversed  by  the  vicus  lugarius  on 
the  west,  while  the  line  of  separation  between  it  and  the  forum 
Boarium  passed  through  the  present  church  of  S.  Giorgio  in 
Velabro 

The  forum  Boarium 2  was  originally  the  open  meadow  where 
cattle  were  bought  and  sold,  extending  from  the  Velabrum  to 
the  Tiber,  and  from  the  valley  of  the  Circus  Maximus  on  the 
east  to  a  line  which  was  approximately  indicated  by  the  road 
leading  from  the  pons  Sublicius  or  the  pons  Aemilius  to  the 
Velabrum.  In  process  of  time  the  building  of  dwelling-houses 
and  of  public  edifices  greatly  diminished  the  size  of  the  open 
markets,  and  the  names  Velabrum  and  forum  Boarium  were 
applied  not  only  to  them,  but  to  the  immediately  adjacent 
districts,  which  became  densely  populated.  The  great  fires 
in  the  city  were  usually  particularly  disastrous  in  this 
crowded  region.8 

1  Varro,  LL.  v.  43;  vi.  24;  GIL.  vi.  1035. 

2  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  477-478  j  OIL.  vi.  919,  31574.         3  Liv.  xxiv.  47 ;  xxxv.  40. 

393 


394  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

The  Velabmm.1  —  The  etymology2  of  the  word  is  uncertain. 
Varro  derived  it  a  vehendo  and  thereby  supported  the  tradi- 
tional view,  which  there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  to  doubt, 
that  this  district  was  very  swampy  until  it  was  drained,  toward 
the  close  of  the  regal  period.  A  distinction  appears  to  have  been 
made  between  the  Velabrum  maius  and  the  Velabrum  minus,3  but 
we  do  not  know  what  it  was.  In  historical  times  the  Velabrum 
was  a  most  important  centre  of  industrial  and  commercial  ac- 
tivity, being  especially  frequented  by  dealers  in  all  kinds  of 
food-stuffs,  oil,  and  wine.4  Its  position  made  it  a  locus  celeber- 
rimus  urbis,5  for  all  the  traffic  between  the  part  of  the  city 
about  the  Forum  and  the  pons  Sublicius  passed  through  its 
principal  streets,  the  vicus  Tuscus  and  the  vicus  lugarius. 
The  character  of  the  life  and  population  of  the  Velabrum  was 
such  as  to  make  it  one  of  the  most  unsavory  parts  of  the  city. 

It  contained  almost  no  monumental  buildings.  The  only 
temple  was  that  of  Felicitas,6  built  by  L.  Licinius  Lucullus 
about  150  B.C.,  which  was  burned  in  the  time  of  Claudius  and 
was  probably  not  rebuilt.  Its  site  is  unknown,  and,  in  fact, 
it  may  have  been  in  the  forum  Boarium  rather  than  in  the 
Velabrum.  A  sacellum,  or  ara,  Accae  Larentiae,7  stood  at  the 
point  where  the  Nova  via  entered  the  Velabrum,  and  near  it 
a  sacellum  Volupiae,8  with  a  statue  of  Diva  Angerona.  A  struct- 
ure called  the  atrium  Oaci,  and  a  fountain  called9  aquam  cer- 

1  Jordan,  I.  1.  194-195;    2.  473-474;    Gilbert,  I.  69-70;    III.  439;   Richter, 
Top.2 181-183. 

2  Varro,  LL.  v.  44;  Prop.  iv.  9.  5;  Tib.  ii.  5.  33. 

3  Varro,  LL.  v.  156 ;  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  405. 

*  Plaut.  Capt.  489;  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  3.  229-230;  Mart.  xi.  52. 10;  GIL.  vi.  467, 
9184,  9259,  9671,  9993. 

5  Macrob.  Sat.  i.  10.  15. 

6  Strabo,  viii.  6.  23  (381) ;  Dio  Cass.  xliii.  21;  Cic.  Verr.  iv.  2.  4;  PI.  NH. 
xxxiv.  69;  xxxvi.  39;  Jordan,  I.  2.  486;  Gilbert,  III.  106-107. 

7  Cic.  ad  Brut.  i.  15.  8 ;  Varro,  LL.  vi.  24;  OIL.  i*.  p.  338. 

«  Varro,  LL .  vi.  23-24;  PI.  NH.  iii.  65;  Macrob.  Sat.  i.  10.  7;  OIL.  i*. 
p.  337;  Gilbert,  I.  57-58;  Not.  Reg.  viii. 

»  Not.  Reg.  viii;  Jordan,  I.  2.  472;  II.  19;  Mitt.  1896,  223. 


THE   FOKUM   BOARIUM.  395 

nentem  (Jordan  ferventem,  Hiilsen  pendentem)  quatuor  scaros 
sub  aede,  were  in  this  region,  but  nothing  further  is  known 
about  them.  Between  the  vicus  lugarius  and  the  Capitoline 
was  a  district  called  the  Aeqnimelium,1  but  even  Cicero  did  not 
know  the  correct  explanation  of  the  name. 

The  Forum  Boarium.2  —  Next  to  the  forum  Romanum,  this 
was  perhaps  the  most  frequently  traversed  section  of  the  city. 
It  was  the  thoroughfare  for  all  traffic  between  the  Forum  and 
the  Tiber ;  into  it  ran  the  clivus  Publicius,  the  main  street  of 
the  Aventine ;  the  valley  of  the  Circus  Maxiums  connected  it 
with  the  via  Appia;  through  the  porta  Trigemina  came  all 
the  travel  and  traffic  from  Ostia ;  the  porta  Carmentalis  and 
the  porta  Flumentana  formed  the  direct  connection  with  the 
campus  Martius  and  the  country  to  the  north  and  east, 
while  communication  with  Etruria  was  effected  by  means  of 
two  bridges,  the  pons  Sublicius  and  pons  Aemilius.  Between 
the  street  leading  to  the  Velabrum  from  the  pons  Aemilius 
and  the  Servian  wall  was  a  thickly  settled  district,  and  a 
line  of  buildings  of  various  sorts  probably  stretched  along 
the  river  bank.  The  district  south  of  the  church  of  S.  Maria 
in  Cosmedin  was  not  regarded  as  a  part  of  the  forum  Boarium. 

This  forum  lay  outside  of  the  pomerium  until  the  time  of 
Claudius,  and  therefore  human  sacrifices  took  place  there  as 
late  as  the  first  century.3  Its  distinctive  sign  was  a  famous 
bronze  statue  of  a  bull,4  said  to  be  the  work  of  Myron  and 
to  have  been  brought  from  Aegina  in  the  third  century  B.C. 
Somewhere  within  its  limits  was  a  spot  called  the  Doliola,5 
where  earthenware  pots  were  buried.  It  was  not  lawful  to 

1  Varro,  LL.  \.  157;  Liv.  iv.  16;  xxiv.  47;  xxxviii.  28;  Cic.  de  Domo,  101; 
de  Div.  ii.  39;  Dionys.  xii.  4;  Jordan,  1. 1.  62;  Gilbert,  I.  257-258. 

2  Gilbert,  I.  74-80.     For  another  view  of  the  topography  of  this  forum,  see 
Melanges,  1909,  103-144. 

»  Liv.  xxii.  57;  PI.  NH.  xxviii.  12.  <  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  10. 

s  Varro,  LL.  v.  157;  Fest.  Epit.  69;  Placid.  32;  Gilbert,  I.  78-79;  Bull  d. 
1st.  1879,  76-77. 


396  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

pollute  this  spot,  and  the  jars  were  said  to  contain  either 
the  bones  of  corpses,  or  quaedam  religiosa  of  Numa,  or  the 
sacred  utensils  of  the  Vestals  which  they  buried  when  the 
Gauls  sacked  the  city.  At  the  northwest  corner  of  the  arch 
of  lanus  Quadrifrous  (p.  403),  and  also  at  a  distance  of  22 
metres  from  it,  there  have  recently1  been  discovered  the  re- 
mains of  small  chambers  arranged  on  both  sides  of  narrow 
corridors  which  form  subterranean  galleries.  These  chambers 
were  vaulted  over,  and  each  contains  a  seat  built  across  one 
side.  They  are  of  small  size,  1.95  by  1.80  metres  in  width 
and  depth,  and  1.80  high.  The  floor  is  3.25  metres  below 
the  ancient  pavement  of  the  forum  Boarium,  which  has  been 
found,  and  this  is  4.50  metres  below  the  present  level  of  the 
via  del  Velabro.  The  construction  of  the  galleries  is  that  of  the 
last  centuries  of  the  republic,  and  they  seem  to  be  especially 
adapted  for  an  underground  prison,  suggesting  the  locus  saxo 
consaeptus,2  in  which  two  Gauls  were  buried  alive  in  215  B.C. 
This  may  have  been  the  place  where  such  human  sacrifices 
were  performed,  and  also  the  mysterious  Doliola  as  well. 
Fragments  of  jars  and  of  the  bones  of  animals  were  found 
here. 

It  is  usually  supposed  that  the  Busta  Gallica,3  or  burial-place 
of  the  Gauls  who  were  killed  at  the  sack  of  Rome,  was  also 
somewhere  in  the  forum  Boarium,  but  there  is  no  evidence  to 
support  this  view,  except  that  they  were  media  in  urbe. 

Outside  the  limits  of  the  forum  Boarium  were  three  statues, 
Hercules  Olivarius,4  Apollo  Oaelispex/5  and  Elephas  Herbarius.6  .The 
first  two  were  probably  between  the  forum  Boarium  and  the 
porta  Trigemina,  while  the  Elephas  Herbarius  was  very  near 
the  forum  Holitorium.  The  vicus  or  district  named  from  this 


1  BC.  1901, 141-145,  283-284;  NS.  1901,  354-355,  422,  481^83. 

2  Liv.  xxii.  57. 

3  Varro,  LL.  v.  157 ;  Liv.  v.  48 ;  xxii.  14. 

*  Not.  Reg.  xi;  NS.  1895,  459;  Diss.  d.  Accad.  Pontif.  II,  vi.  1896,  261. 
5  Not.  ib.  6Not.  Reg.  viii;  Jordan,  I.  2.  476. 


THE   FORUM   BOARIUM.  397 

statue  was  evidently  the  resort  of  herbarii,  as  that  of  Hercules 
Olivarius  was  occupied  by  dealers  in  oil. 

The  Cloaca  Maxima  (p.  109)  runs  through  the  forum  Boarium 
in  its  original  course,  and  at  some  points  the  masonry  of  the 
early  repxiblican  period  is  still  visible.  Another  ancient  sewer,1 
which  drained  the  valley  of  the  Circus  Maximus  (p.  107), 
entered  the  forum  Boarium  at  the  corner  of  the  via  della 
Greca  and  the  via  della  Salara,  and  emptied  into  the  Tiber 
about  50  metres  below  the  Cloaca  Maxima.  Its  course  has 
been  traced  from  the  Colosseum.  Just  west  of  the  corner  of 
these  two  streets  two  smaller  sewers  flow  into  it  from  the 
southeast,  and  between  their  channels  remains  of  early  repub- 
lican masonry  2  have  been  found,  which,  however,  cannot  be 
identified  with  any  certainty. 

The  most  ancient  cult  in  the  foruin  Boarium  was  that  of 
Hercules,  represented  by  two,  and  perhaps  three,  sanctuaries. 
The  oldest  of  these  was  the  ara  Herculis  Maxima,3  erected,  accord- 
ing to  tradition,  by  Hercules  himself.  This  altar  was  standing 
in  the  fourth  century,4  but  has  left  no  trace.5 

The  oldest  temple  was  that  of  Hercules  Invictus  or  Victor,6  a 
round  temple  said  to  have  been  built  by  Hercules  himself.  In 
168  B.C.  it  was  restored  by  L.  Aemilius  Paulus,  at  whose  com- 
mand the  poet  and  painter  Pacuvius  decorated  its  interior.7 
After  the  fire  of  Nero,  it  was  restored  by  Vespasian.  In  form 
it  was  undoubtedly  very  like  the  existing  round  temple  in  the 
forum  Boarium  (p.  401).  While  the  exact  site  of  ara  and  temple 
cannot  be  marked  out,8  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  altar  stood 

*  BC.  1892,  261-262,  281-283. 
2  NS.  1885,  527. 

•  lav.  i.  7;  Ov.  Fast.  i.  581-^582;  Tac.  Ann.  xii.  24;   xv.  41;  Serv.  in  Aen. 
viii.  269-271 ;  Gilbert,  I.  78-82.  *  OIL.  vi.  312-319. 

6  Cf.,  however,  Melanges,  1909, 107-117. 
6  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  41 ;  Liv.  x.  23;  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  33. 
i  Fest.  242 ;  PL  NH.  xxxv.  19. 

8  Mon.  d.  1st.  1854,  28-38 ;  Richter,  Top."  188-189 ;  Gilbert,  III.  433-134 ;  Jor- 
dan, I.  2.  480-483. 


398  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

a  little  to  the  north  of  S.  Maria  in  Cosmedin,  and  therefore  a 
short  distance  from  the  carceres  of  the  Circus  Maximus,  and 
that  the  temple  was  very  near  the  altar.  A  third  temple  of 
Hercules,  the  aedes  Herculis  Pompeiani,1  stood  ad  circum  maximum, 
but  its  site  is  a  matter  of  dispute  (p.  402). 

Near  the  temple  of  Hercules  Invictus  was  the  sacellum  Pudi- 
citiae  Patriciae,2  mentioned  for  the  first  time  under  the  date 
of  296  B.C.,  and  connected  with  the  struggle  between  the  two 
orders  in  the  state.  Near  the  pons  Aemilius  was  the  Portu- 
nium,3  or  temple  of  Portunus,  and  near  this  temple  were  fish 
and  flower  markets. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  forum  Boarium  were  two  temples,4 
that  of  Portuna  and  that  of  Mater  Matuta.  The  erection  of  the 
first  was  ascribed  to  Servius  Tullius.5  It  was  burned  in 
213  B.C.6  and  restored  by  a  special  commission,  but  it  is  not 
mentioned  after  the  first  century.  In  this  temple  was  a  statue, 
covered  with  two  togas,7  which  was  thought  by  some  Romans 
to  be  a  statue  of  Servius  Tullius,  and  by  others  to  be  that  of 
the  goddess  Fortuna  herself. 

The  temple  of  Mater  Matuta8  was  also  ascribed  to  Servius 
Tullius.  It  was  restored  in  395  B.C.  by  Camillus ;  and  burned 
and  again  restored  in  213-212,  at  the  same  time  as  the  temple 
of  Fortuna.  In  this  temple  Ti.  Sempronius  Gracchus  placed 
a  bronze  tablet,9  which  recorded  his  campaigns  in  Sardinia, 
together  with  a  map  of  the  island.  In  196  B.C.  two  arches 
(fornices)  with  gilded  statues  were  set  up  by  L.  Stertinius  in 

1  Vitr.  iii.  3.  5;  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  57;  Gilbert,  III.  434;  Jordan,  I.  3.  148. 

2  Liv.  x.  23;  Fest.  242;  Jordan,  I.  2.  483;  Gilbert,  III.  435. 

8  Varro,  LL.  vi.  19 ;  Fronto,  i.  7,  p.  19  (Naber) ;  Jordan,  I.  2. 485-486 ;  II.  199, 
257 ;  Gilbert,  I.  263. 

<  Jordan,  I.  2.  484-485;  Gilbert,  II.  390-393;  III.  438-439;  Melanges,  1909, 
123-127. 

6  Dionys.  iv.  27.  6  Liv.  xxiv.  47 ;  xxv.  7. 

7  PI.  NH.  viii.  194 ;  Wissowa,  Analecta  Romana  Topographica,  1897,  p.  5. 

8  Dionys.  iv.  27 ;  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  48CM81 ;  Liv.  v.  19 ;  xxiv.  47 ;  xxv.  7. 

9  Liv.  xli.  28. 


THE  FORUM  BOARIUM. 


399 


front  of  these  two  temples.1  If,  as  is  probable,  these  arches 
were  part  of  a  colonnade  surrounding  the  two  temples,  the 
temples  themselves  must  have  been  close  together,  and  perhaps 
had  the  same  orientation.  Another  arch  stood  directly  in 
front  of  the  pons  Aemilius,  near  these  temples,  the  inscription 2 


FIG.  79.  —  S.  MARIA  EOIZIACA. 

on  which,  recording  a  restoration  of  the  bridge  by  Augustus, 
was  in  existence  in  the  middle  ages. 

Existing  Remains  in  the  Forum  Boarium.  —  (1)  S.  Maria 
Egiziaca.  This  church  is  an  ancient  temple,  which  was  con- 
verted into  its  present  form  in  872  A.D.  The  temple  is  Ionic, 
20  metres  long  and  12  wide,  with  north-south  orientation  par- 

1  Liv.  xxxiii.  27.      a  OIL.  vi.  878;  cf.  Anonymus  Magliabecchianus,  p.  57. 


400  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

allel  to  the  river,  tetrastyle  prostyle,  and  stands  on  a  podium 
2.50  metres  in  height  and  originally  26  metres  long.  It  was 
pseudo-peripteral,  having  five  engaged  columns  in  the  side 
walls  of  the  cella,  and  a  pronaos.  The  two  free  columns  of 


FIG.  80.  —  S.  MARIA  DEL  SOLE. 


the  pronaos  were  walled  up  to  increase  the  size  of  the  church. 
The  cella  walls  and  engaged  columns,  except  those  at  the 
angles,  are  of  tufa;  the  columns  of  the  pronaos,  the  capitals 
of  all  the  columns,  the  architrave  and  cornice,  and  the  facing 


THE   FORUM   BOARIUM.  401 

of  the  podium,  of  travertine.  The  frieze  was  decorated  with 
ox-skulls  and  garlands,  but  most  of  this  decoration  has  disap- 
peared. This  temple  faced  toward  the  street  leading  up  from 
the  pons  Aemilius,  and  not  toward  the  forum  proper.  It  is 
generally  identified  with  the  temple  of  Fortuna,  sometimes  with 
that  of  Mater  Matuta,  but  if  either  identification  is  correct,  the 
temple  must  have  been  entirely  restored  about  the  middle  of 
the  first  century  B.C.,  to  which  period  the  construction  seems 
to  point.1 

(2)  S.  Maria  del  Sole.     This  church,  which  stands  near  the 
river  in  the  piazza  di  Bocca  della  Verita,  is  an  ancient  round 
temple,  very  like  the  temples  of  Vesta.     It  is  built  of  white 
marble,    the   blocks   of   the   cella   being   solid,   with   a    peri- 
style of  twenty  Corinthian  columns.     The  cella  is  10  metres 
in  diameter  and  stands  on  a  podium  2  metres  high.     This 
podium  is  of  tufa  and  belongs  to  the  period  of  the  republic, 
but  its  marble  covering  and  the  whole  marble  superstructure 
date  from  the  early  empire.     The  entablature  is  missing,  and 
the   roof  is   modern.     Eight  steps   led  up  to  the  top  of  the 
podium,  and  the  entrance  is  on  the  east,  toward  the  forum. 

This  structure  has  been  called  by  ten  different  names,2  but 
it  is  usually  identified  either  with  the  temple  of  Portunus  or  that 
of  Mater  Matuta,  as  there  is  no  possibility  of  its  being  a  temple 
of  Vesta.  No  certainty  attaches  to  either  of  these  identifica- 
tions. 

(3)  S.  Maria  in  Oosmedin.     Recent  excavations3  have  shown 
that  the  present  church  occupies  the  site  of  an  early  republi- 
can temple  and  of  some  structure  of  the  fourth  century. 

Of  the  temple  nothing  remains  except  tufa  blocks  belonging 
to  foundations  and  walls.  This  temple  appears  to  have  existed, 
although  in  a  ruined  state,  until  the  eighth  century,  when  it 

1  Mitt.  1906,  220-279. 

2  Lanciani,  Ruins,  518;  Altmann,  Rundbauten,  33-36. 

8  G.  B.  Giovenale,  Annuario  dell'  Associazione  artistica  frai  cultori  di 
architettura,  v.  1895. 


402 


TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 


was  entirely  destroyed,  and  the  church,  which  up  to  that  time 
had  extended  only  to  its  wall,  was  enlarged  so  as  to  cover  a 
considerable  part  of  its  foundations.  There  is  complete  uncer- 
tainty as  to  the  name  of  this  temple.  It  is  sometimes  identi- 
fied with  that  of  Ceres,  Liber,  and  Libera  (p.  409),  sometimes 
with  that  of  Hercules  Pompeianus  (p.  398),  but  there  is  no  con- 
vincing proof  in  either  case.1 

Directly  in  front  of  this  temple  is  part  of  a  structure  of  the 
fourth  century,  in  which  the  original  church  was  built.     This 

building  was  a  rectangular 
portions,  30  metres  long  and 
15  wide,  consisting  of  a  brick 
wall  at  the  rear  and  a  colon- 
nade on  the  front  and  sides. 
Eleven  of  the  columns  of  this 
porticus  are  built  into  the  wall 


H^B 

FIG.  81. 


PLAN  OF  THE  STATIC 
ANNONAE. 


of  the  present  church.  They 
appear  to  have  stood,  not  on 
the  pavement  of  the  porticus, 
but  on  a  low  inclosure  wall. 
The  question  of  the  roof  of 
the  porticus  is  a  perplexing 
one,  as  the  columns  do  not 
seem  strong  enough  to  have 

supported  a  roof  without  additional  help.  As  it  is  known 
that  this  space  at  the  corner  of  the  Aventine  was  largely 
occupied  with  buildings  which  belonged  to  the  Annona  urbis, 
it  is  a  plausible  conjecture  that  this  particular  building  may 
have  been  the  statio  Annonae,2  or  headquarters  of  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  corn-supply. 

Near  the  church  of  S.  Giorgio  in  Velabro  is  a  four-way  arch 


1  For  an  identification  with  the  ara  Maxima,  see  Melanges,  1909, 107-117. 

2  Ann  d.Ist.  1885,  223-234;  EC.  1889,  358;  Mitt.  1891,  107;  Jordan,  I.  3. 
146-147. 


THE   FORUM   BOARIUM.  403 

of  marble,1  consisting  of  four  piers  connected  by  quadripartite 
vaulting.  It  stands  directly  over  the  Cloaca  Maxima  and 
probably  marked  the  line  of  separation  between  the  forum 
Boarium  and  the  Velabrum.  It  is  of  late  date, — third  or  fourth 
century,  —  and  is  without  much  doubt  the  arch  which  is  called 
in  the  Notitia  arcus  Constantini.  It  is  now  usually  known  as 
lanus  quadrifrons.  The  whole  structure  is  12  metres  square  and 
16  high,  while  the  arches  themselves  are  10.60  metres  high  and 
5.70  wide.  Bound  all  four  sides  run  two  rows  of  niches  for 
statues,  forty-eight  in  all,  of  which  sixteen  are  unfinished. 
There  are  traces  of  sculpture  on  the  keystones  of  the  arches, 
but  the  workmanship  is  very  poor  and  the  whole  structure 
illustrates  the  extreme  decadence  of  the  time  of  Constantine. 

The  so-called  arcus  Septimi  Seven,  or  monumentum  Argentarionun, 
is  an  arch  which  stands  at  the  southwest  angle  of  the  church 
of  S.  Giorgio  in  Velabro ;  in  fact,  the  campanile  of  the  church 
rests  partly  upon  one  pier  of  the  arch,  concealing  two  of  its 
sides.  It  was  erected  in  204  A.D.  by  the  argentariiet  negotiantes 
boarii2  in  honor  of  Septimius  Severus,  his  wife,  and  sons.  It 
is  not  a  true  arch,  but  a  flat  lintel  resting  on  two  piers,  and  is 
wholly  of  marble,  except  the  base,  which  is  of  travertine.  It  is 
6.15  metres  in  height  and  the  archway  is  3.30  metres  wide. 
At  the  corners  of  the  piers  are  pilasters  with  Corinthian 
capitals,  and  the  whole  surface  of  the  structure  is  adorned 
either  with  coarse  decorative  sculpture  or  reliefs  which  repre- 
sent sacrificial  scenes.  On  the  inside  of  the  gateway  the 
figures  of  some  members  of  the  imperial  family  are  cut  in 
relief.  The  ceiling  of  this  gateway  is  carved  in  soffits,  and  on 
the  architrave  is  the  dedicatory  inscription.  The  rest  of  the 
entablature  exhibits  the  rich  but  superfluous  decoration  so 
characteristic  of  the  decadence. 

The  Circus  Maximus.  —  From  the  earliest  times  the  'Romans 
celebrated  their  games  with  races  and  public  spectacles  in  the 

i  Jordan,  I.  2.  471-^72.  2  OIL.  vi.  1035. 


404  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

valley  between  the  Palatine  and  the  Aventine,  which  was  well 
adapted  by  nature  for  this  purpose,  being  600  metres  long  and 
150  wide,  while  the  slopes  of  the  hills  afforded  convenient 
places  for  the  spectators.1  This  valley  was  called  the  vallis 
Murcia,  ad  Murciam,  or  ad  Murciae,2  from  an  altar  of  Murcia,  a 
goddess  sometimes  identified  with  Venus.  Roman  etymolo- 
gists derived  the  word  from  myrtea,  and  supposed  that  the 
valley  was  originally  overgrown  with  myrtle.  It  must  have 
been  somewhat  swampy,  and  a  brook,  called  in  medieval  and 
modern  times  the  Marrana,  flowed  through  it,  which  drained 
the  valleys  of  the  Caelian  and  the  adjacent  districts.  In  pro- 
cess of  time  the  brook  was  confined  within  walls  of  masonry 
for  a  part  of  its  course,  and  became  one  of  the  great  cloacae  of 
Home  (p.  107). 

The  earliest  cult  in  this  valley  was  that  of  Consus,  an  an- 
cient Italic  deity  of  agriculture  and  the  under-world,  whose 
altar,  the  ara  Consi,3  stood  at  the  southeast  end  of  the  valley 
and  was  hidden  beneath  the  earth  except  at  festivals.  Of  the 
three  festivals  in  honor  of  this  deity,  the  principal  one,  the 
Consudlia,  was  accompanied  with  horse  and  chariot  races. 
After  a  permanent  spina  was  built,  the  altar  appears  to  have 
been  at  its  southeast  extremity. 

In  this  valley  the  first  and  greatest  of  all  Roman  drci  was 
gradually  developed.4  During  the  regal  period,  while  there 
was  nothing  in  the  way  of  a  permanent  building,  special  places 
were  assigned  to  the  different  curiae,  where  they  could  erect 
their  temporary  seats.  In  329  B.C.  permanent  carceres 5  were 
first  built,  and  considerably  later,  in  the  first  half  of  the  second 
century,  the  activity  displayed  in  so  many  other  forms  of  mu- 

1  Liv.  i.  35,  56 ;  Dionys.  iii.  68. 

2  Liv.  i.  33;  Varro,  LL.  v.  154;  Serv.  in  Aen.  viii.  636. 

8  Varro,  LL.  vi.  20;  Tac.  Ann.  xii.  24;  Dionys.  ii.  31;  Tertull.  de  Spect.  5. 
Cf.,  however,  Melanges,  1908,  279. 

<  Gilbert,  II.  454-456;  III.  313-319;  Jordan,  I.  3.  120-144;  Pauly,  Beal-En- 
cijclopadie,  iii.  2572-2581, 

5  Liv.  viii.  20. 


THE    CIRCUS   MAXIMUS.  405 

nicipal  life  made  itself  felt  in  the  circus.  It  was  at  this  time 
that  the  open  Marrana  was  probably  transformed  into  a  closed 
cloaca,  which  would  have  allowed  a  permanent  spina  to  be  built. 
The  decorative  arches  and  statues  1  (e.g.  fornix  Stertmii,  signum 
Pollentiae)  erected  at  this  time  presuppose  the  existence  of  some 
permanent  structure,  and  we  may  assume  that  by  the  third  cen- 
tury B.C.  the  purely  temporary  character  of  the  circus  had  passed 
away. 

The  history  of  the  circus  as  one  of  the  great  buildings  of  the 
world  begins  with  Caesar.2  As  rebuilt  by  him,  it  consisted  of 
three  bands  of  seats,  the  lowest  of  masonry  and  the  upper  two 
of  wood.  Just  inside  the  lowest  tier  of  seats,  encircling  the 
arena,  was  a  water-channel  3  metres  wide  called  the  Euripus, 
the  object  of  which  was  to  protect  the  spectators  from  attacks 
of  the  wild  beasts.  In  31  B.C.  the  wooden  part  of  the  circus 
was  burned,  and  restored  by  Augustus,3  who  erected  the  pulvi- 
nar  ad  circum  maximum,  a  sort  of  box  on  the  Palatine  side,  from 
which  the  imperial  household  could  view  the  games.  Augustus 
also  set  up  on  the  spina  the"  obelisk 4  from  Heliopolis,  which  is 
now  in  the  piazza  del  Popolo.  The  circus  was  partially  destroyed 
by  fire  in  36  A.D.,  and  enlarged  and  restored  by  Claudius,5  who 
constructed  carceres  of  marble  and  goals  of  gilt  bronze.  The 
great  fire  in  64  A.D.  broke  out  in  the  circus,6  and  must  have 
destroyed  it  so  completely  that  the  restoration  following  was 
practically  a  rebuilding.  Again  during  Domitian's  reign  the 
edifice  suffered  from  fire,7  but  to  what  extent  is  not  known. 
It  was  once  more  enlarged  and  restored  by  Trajan,  and  then 
reached  its  greatest  size  and  magnificence.8  While  the  upper- 
most seats  were  always  of  wood  and  subject  to  not  infrequent 
conflagrations,  the -main  structure  was  of  solid  masonry  and 
covered  inside  and  outside  with  white  marble.  The  size  of  this 

1  Liv.  xxxiii.  27 ;  xxxix.  7 ;  xl.  2.          6  Tac.  Ann.  vi.  51 ;  Suet.  Claud.  21. 

2  Suet.  Caes.  39;  Dionys.  iii.  68.  «  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  38. 
8  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  4.  7  Suet.  Dom.  5. 

*  PI.  NIL  xxxri.  71.  8  PI.  Paneg.  51 ;  Dio  Cass.  Ixviii.  7. 


406  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

circus  and  its  wealth  of  decoration  of  every  description  made 
it  the  most  magnificent  building,  not  only  in  Rome,  but  prob- 
ably in  the  whole  world.  Later  emperors  l  did  something  in 
the  way  of  restoration  and  decoration,  but  added  little  or  noth- 
ing to  its  splendor. 

From  coins,  fragments  of  the  Marble  Plan,  the  description 
of  Dionysius,  and  other  evidence,2  we  can  reconstruct  the  edi- 
fice in  the  main  in  its  final  shape.  It  was  probably  about  625 
metres  long,  the  arena  itself  being  568  metres  long  and  87  me- 
tres wide  at  the  end  of  the  spina.  The  cavea  proper  was  about 
27  metres  in  depth,  but  during  the  empire  this  was  so  much  in- 
creased by  additions  on  the  slopes  of  the  Palatine  and  Aven- 
tine  that  the  total  width  of  the  whole  structure  seems  to  have 
been  nearly  200  metres.3  The  exterior  was  formed  of  three 
stories,  with  arches  and  engaged  columns  of  the  Doric  order, 
like  the  Colosseum,  but  all  covered  with  marble.  The  cavea 
was  divided  into  three  bands  or  zones  of  seats,  separated  by 
corridors,  and  the  arrangement  of  approaches  and  stairways 
was  probably  similar  to  that  in  the  Colosseum.  As  in  the  lat- 
ter building,  a  podium  or  raised  platform  surrounded  the  arena, 
between  the  seats  and  the  Euripus,  and  on  this  were  the  chairs 
of  the  imperial  family  and  high  officials.  The  west  end  rose 
in  several  stories  with  towers  and  battlements,  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  suggest  the  appearance  of  a  walled  town,  and  this 
part  of  the  circus  was  called  sometimes  oppidum.*  This  end 
was  not  straight,  but  curved,  and  the  ground  level  toward  the 
arena  was  occupied  by  the  carceres,  probably  twelve  in  num- 
ber. These  carceres  were  closed  by  barriers,  and  this  fact 
probably  explains  the  use  of  the  name  Dnodecim  portae  *  to  des- 


1  Viet.  Goes.  40. 

2  Abhandlungen  d.  Berl.  Akademie,  1873, 67  ff. ;  Jordan,  FUR.  38-40 ;  Ann. 
d.  1st.  1870,  232-261;  NS.  1876,  101,  138-139,  184;   1877,  8,  110,  204;   1888, 191, 
226-227;  Mitt.  1892,  295;  1893,  289. 

«  Melanges,  1908,  229-231;  BC.  1908,  241-253. 

*  Varro,  LL.  v.  153;  Fest.  Epit.  184.  6  Obseq.  130 ;  Not.  Reg.  xi. 


408  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

ignate  this  end  of  the  building.  Above  the  carceres  were  two 
boxes,  one  for  the  presiding  magistrate  and  the  other  for  the 
judges. 

On  the  spina  stood  the  obelisk  of  Augustus  (p.  405)  and  a 
second  erected  by  Constantius  in  357  A.D.  l  and  now  in  front  of 
the  Lateran ;  the  altar  of  Census  (h,  Fig.  82) ;  a  small  shrine 
near  each  end,  on  one  of  which  (</)  were  sets  of  seven  marble 
eggs  (ovaria) 2  used  to  indicate  the  laps  of  the  race,  and  on  the 
other  (6)  sets  of  dolphins3  for  the  same  purpose.  v  At  each  end 
(a,  a')  of  the  spina  were  the  metae,  or  goals,  three  cones  of  gilt 
bronze.  There  were  also  other  shrines  (c,  d,  e,f)  and  statues 
on  the  spina.4  The  east  end  was  semicircular  in  form  and 
broken  in  the  centre  by  a  gateway,  the  porta  Pompae,  through 
which  the  procession  seems  to  have  usually  entered  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  games.  This  gateway  was  formed  by  an  arch, 
the  arcus  Vespasiani  et  Titi,  erected  by  Domitian 5  in  81  A.D.  in 
honor  of  his  father  and  brother,  in  commemoration  of  the  cap- 
ture of  Jerusalem.  The  open  arcades  in  the  exterior  of  the 
circus  on  the  ground  level  and  the  chambers  above  them  were 
used  for  shops  and  especially  for  brothels,  so  that  this  district 
was  one  of  the  most  disreputable  in  the  city.6 

The  size7  and  seating  capacity  of  the  Circus  Maximus  have 
given  rise  to  much  discussion.  The  Notitia  states  that  it  con- 
tained three  hundred  and  eighty -five  thousand  loca.  The  most 
probable  explanation  of  this  statement  is  that  there  were  three 
hundred  and  eighty-five  thousand  running  feet  of  seats,  and 
therefore  capacity  for  about  two  hundred  thousand  spectators. 
Others  have  estimated  the  capacity  all  the  way  from  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  thousand  (Hulsen) 8  to  three  hundred  and 

1  Amm.  Marc.  xvii.  4.  12.  2  Liv.  xli.  27. 

8  Dio  Cass.  xlix.  43.  *  Tertull.  de  Spect.  8.  6  CIL.  vi.  944. 

6  Hor.  Sat.  i.  6. 113 ;  Juv.  vi.  588 ;  Cic.  pro  Mil.  65 ;  de  Div.  i.  132 ;  Lamprid. 
Vit.  Elag.  26. 

"  Dionys.  iii.  68;  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  102;  Pauly,  Real-Encydopddie,  iii.  2578; 
Richter,  Top.2  178;  Jordan,  I.  3.  132-140. 

»£C.  1894,  321-324. 


THE   CIRCUS   MAXIMUS.  409 

eighty-five  thousand.     In  any  case,  the  enlargement  after  the 
time  of  Augustus  was  very  considerable. 

Throughout  the  republic  the  circus  was  used  for  gladiatorial 
combats  and  fights  with  wild  beasts,  as  well  as  for  races  j  but 
after  the  building  of  the  amphitheatre  of  Statilius  Taurus,  and 
still  more  after  the  erection  of  the  Colosseum,  the  first  species 
of  entertainment  was  largely,  although  not  entirely,  removed 
from  the  circus.  The  last  recorded  games  took  place  under 
Totila  in  549  A.D.1  In  that  century  the  destruction  of  the 
circus  began,  and  has  continued  until  the  present  day.  In  the 
sixteenth  century  nothing  remained  except  some  fragments  of 
the  arcades,  spur  walls,  and  spina.  The  city  gas-works,  which 
have  hitherto  occupied  the  site,  are  being  removed,  and  the 
development  of  the  Zona  Monumentale  promises  to  result  in 
the  eventual  excavation  of  all  the  remains  of  the  circus. 

Numerous  divinities  were  worshipped  within  the  circus,  and 
their  shrines  or  altars  were  either  on  the  spina  or  in  the  cavea. 
Tertullian 2  enumerates  a  long  list,  —  Castor  and  Pollux,  the 
Sun,  Magna  Mater,  Neptune,  and  Venus  Murcia,  together  with 
various  minor  deities.  The  temple  of  the  Sun  is  mentioned  by 
Tacitus 3  and  in  the  Regionary  Catalogue  as  the  templmn  Solis  et 
Lunae. 

Close  by  the  circus  were  several  temples,  which  were  vari- 
ously designated  as  ad  circum  maximum,  in  circo  maximo,  or 
prope  circum,  but  of  which  no  certain  traces  are  left.  The 
most  important  of  these  was  the  temple  of  Geres  Liber  Liberaque,4 
which  was  said  to  have  been  vowed  in  496  B.C.  and  dedicated 
three  years  later.  It  was  burned  in  31  B.C.,  rebuilt  by  Augustus, 
and  dedicated  by  Tiberius  in  17  A.D.*  It  was  Tuscan  in  style, 
with  wide  intercolumniations,  and  its  faqade  was  decorated 

i  Procop.  Bell.  Goth.  iii.  37.  a  De  Spect.  8. 

3  Ann.  xv.  74.  Cf.  Tertull.  de  Spect.  9;  Hulsen,  Diss.  d.  Accad.  Pontif- 
II.  vi.  1896,  267. 

<  Dionys.  vi.  17,  94;  Gilbert,  II.  242-250;  Jordan,  I.  3. 115-117. 
*  Dio  Cass.  1.  10 ;  Tac.  Ann.  ii.  49. 


410  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

with  statues  of  terra  cotta  and  gilt  bronze.1  The  worship  of 
Ceres  was  essentially  plebeian,  and  the  political  importance 
of  this  temple  was  very  great,  as  it  was  the  headquarters  of 
the  plebeian  aediles,  and  within  it  were  stored  the  plebeian 
archives.2  It  was  near  the  west  end  of  the  circus  on  the 
Aventine  side,  but  how  far  up  the  slope  of  the  hill  is  uncertain. 

The  other  temples  were  those  of  Mercurius,3  on  the  slope  of 
the  Aventine  above  the  circus,  dedicated  in  495  B.C.,  and  re- 
stored by  Marcus  Aurelius  ;  Summanus,4  built  at  some  unknown 
date,  and  restored  during  the  war  with  Pyrrhus ;  Venus,5  dedi- 
cated in  295  B.C.,  and  mentioned  as  standing  in  the  first 
century;  luventas,6  near  that  of  Summanus,  dedicated  by  L. 
Licinius  Lucullus  in  193  B.C.,  burned  in  16  B.C.,  restored  by 
Augustus,  and  mentioned  as  existing  in  the  first  century ; 
Plora,7  near  the  temple  of  Ceres,  built  in  240  or  238  B.C.,  and 
rebuilt  and  dedicated  by  Tiberius  in  17  A.D.  ;  Salus,8  built  in 
65  A.D.  to  commemorate  Nero's  escape  from  the  conspiracy  of 
Piso,  and  mentioned  only  once.  The  temple  of  Dis  Pater,  men- 
tioned only  in  the  Notitia,  is  perhaps  to  be  identified9  with  that 
of  Summanus.  On  the  west  side  of  the  circus,  at  the  foot  of 
the  slope  of  the  Aventine,  within  the  present  limits  of  the 
Jewish  cemetery,  stood  one  of  the  arae  incendii  Neroniani10 
(p.  493),  erected  by  Domitian,  of  which  some  remains  have 
been  found. 

Between  the  porta  Trigemina  and  the  statio  Annonae  was  the 
arcus  Lentuli  et  Orispini,11  erected  by  Lentulus  and  Crispinus,  con- 


1  Vitr.  iii.  3.  5;  PI.  NH.  xxxv.  154. 

2  Liv.  iii.  55;  x.  23;  Dionys.  vi.  89. 

s  Liv.  ii.  21,  27;  Ov.  Fast.  v.  669;  Apul.  Met.  vi.  8;  Gilbert,  II.  251;  Alt- 
mann,  Rundbauten,  21. 

4  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  731 ;  OIL.  i«.  p.  320. 
6  Liv.  x.  31;  xxix.  37;  Fest.  265;  OIL.  R  p.  320. 
6  PI.  NH.  xxix.  57;  Liv.  xxxvi.  36;  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  8;  Dio  Cass.  liv.  19. 
?  Tac.  Ann.  ii.  49.  »  Jordan,  I.  3. 119. 

8  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  74.  "  OIL.  vi.  826 ;  Jordan,  I.  3. 128. 

"  Gilbert,  III.  188;  Lanciani,  Acque,  100-101. 


THE   CIRCUS   MAXIMUS.  411 

suls  in  2  A.D.  This  arch  stood  during  the  early  middle  ages, 
and  its  inscription,1  which  has  been  preserved,  is  exactly  like 
that 2  on  the  arch  of  Dolabella  and  Silanus  (p.  440).  The 
arches  themselves  were  probably  alike,  and  while  it  is  not 
known  whether  they  stood  alone  or  were  parts  of  the  rivus 
Herculaneus  (p.  95),  the  latter  is  probably  the  case. 

i  CIL.  vi.  1385.  «  GIL.  vi.  1384. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  AVENTINE.     REGIONS  XII   AND  XIII. 

The  Aventine l  is  the  southernmost  of  the  hills  of  Rome,  and 
stretches  southeast  from  the  Tiber.  It  is  trapezoidal  in  form, 
and  its  sides,  beginning  with  that  toward  the  river,  measure 
respectively  about  500,  600,  750,  and  600  metres  in  length. 
Like  the  Palatine  and  the  Capitoline,  it  is  divided  into  two 
portions  by  a  depression  which  crosses  the  hill  from  northeast 
to  southwest.  The  western  portion  is  much  the  larger,  and  the 
other  is  frequently  called  the  Pseudo-Aventine,  but  there  was 
no  such  distinction  in  antiquity.  It  is  uncertain  how  much  of 
the  hill  was  originally  called  mons  Aventinus,  but  it  seems 
probable  that  this  name  belonged  at  first  to  the  western  part, 
which  continued  to  bear  that  official  designation.  At  a  com- 
paratively early  period,  however,  perhaps  as  a  result  of  the 
building  of  the  Servian  wall,  this  name  was  extended  in  ordi- 
nary usage  to  include  the  eastern  portion  also.2  The  hill  rises 
abruptly  from  the  bank  of  the  river  and  is  steep  on  the  north 
and  southwest,  but  slopes  gradually  toward  the  east  and  south- 
east. According  to  the  traditional  view,  the  Aventine 3  did  not 
become  a  part  of  the  city  until  the  Servian  wall  was  built, 
when  it  was  included  for  purposes  of  fortification,  while  it 
remained  without  the  pomerium  until  the  time  of  Claudius, 
its  exclusion  being  due  to  religious  scruples  connected  with  the 
tradition  of  the  founding  of  the  city.4  The  line  of  the  Servian 

1  A.  Merlin,  L'Aventin  dans  I'Antiquitt.    Sibliotheque  des  Denies  fran- 
qaises.    Paris,  1906. 

2  Jordan,  I.  3. 149-151 ;  Merlin,  op.  cit.  5-14.  »  Gilbert,  II.  144-257. 

4  Aul.  Gell.  xiii.  14.  For  a  forcible  presentation  of  the  view  that  the  Aven- 
tine was  not  included  within  any  wall  before  that  of  the  fourth  century,  and 
was  therefore  outside  the  pomerium,  see  Merrill,  CP.  1909,  420-432. 

412 


THE   AVENTINE.  413 

wall,  its  gates,  and  the  existing  remains,  have  been  described 
(pp.  46,  49,  112-117). 

The  name  Aventinus  is  still  unexplained,  in  spite  of  the  many 
etymologies  offered  by  Roman  antiquarians.1  It  is,  however, 
a  plausible  suggestion  that  the  word  represents  the  name  of  an 
ancient  Italian,  or  perhaps  Ligurian,  settlement,  especially  as 
the  term  pagus  Aventinus 2  continued  in  use  in  historical  times. 
According  to  tradition,  the  Aventine  was  public  domain  until 
456  B.C.,  when  by  the  lex  Icilia  a  portion  of  it  was  handed 
over  to  the  plebeians  for  settlement.3  It  continued  to  be  an 
essentially  plebeian  quarter  until  the  empire,  when  many 
wealthy  Romans  built  their  residences  there,  but  it  was  always 
an  unimportant  part  of  the  city,  comparatively  speaking,  and 
few  remains  of  interest  have  been  found  within  its  limits. 

The  principal  streets  on  and  about  the  Aventine  were  :  the 
two  great  roads,  the  via  Appia,  which  formed  the  northeast 
boundary  of  region  XII,  and  the  via  Ostiensis,  which  was  vir- 
tually the  extension  of  the  street  which  skirted  the  hill  on 
the  southwest ;  the  vicus  Piscinae  Publicae,4  which  led  from  the 
eastern  end  of  the  Circus  Maximus  across  the  depression  to 
the  porta  Raudusculana,  and  its  continuation  to  the  via  Ostien- 
sis, which  was  probably  the  vicus  portae  Baudusculanae ; 5  the 
clivus  Publicius,6  which  began  at  the  west  end  of  the  Circus 
Maximus  in  the  forum  Boarium,  and  extended  in  a  southerly 
direction  to  the  temple  of  Diana  and  on  to  the  vicus  Piscinae 
Publicae  (this  street  was  paved  about  238  B.C.,  and  as  it  is  said 
to  have  been  burned  over  in 203  B.C.,  it  must  have  been  closely 

1  Varro,  LL.  v.  43;  Liv.  i.  3;  Verg.   Aen.  vii.  657;  Serv.  ad  loc.;  Jordan, 
I.  1. 183-185;  3. 151-153;  Merlin,  op.  cit.  26-36. 

2  (Or  Aventinensis)  OIL.  xiv.  2105. 

»  Dionys.  iii.  43;  x.  31-32;  Liv.  iii.  31. 

4  Bas.  Capit.  Reg.  xii. ;  cf.  Amm.  Marc.  xvii.  4. 14 ;  OIL.  vi.  167 ;  Jordan,  I.  3. 
183-185. 

6  BC.  1891,  211  n. 

a  Varro,  LL.  v.  158;  Fest.  238;  Ov.  Fast.  v.  293-294;  Liv.  xxvi.  10;  xxvii. 
37;  xxx.  26;  Gilbert,  III.  441;  Jordan,  I.  3. 153-156;  Merlin,  op.  cit.  95,  247. 


414  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

built  up  by  that  time) ;  the  via  Ardeatina,1  which  from  very 
early  times  led  through  the  later  porta  Ardeatina,  that  portion 
between  the  vicus  Piscinae  Publicae  and  the  Servian  wall  being 
called  the  vicus  portae  Naeviae;2  and  the  via  Nova,3  built  by 
Caracalla  to  connect  his  new  baths  with  the  Circus  Maximus. 
The  clivus  Delfini 4  was  probably  a  street  that  ran  from  the  via 
Nova,  north  of  the  baths  of  Caracalla,  to  the  via  Ardeatina ; 
the  area  Eadicaria,  an  open  space  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
baths ;  and  the  campus  Lanatarius  perhaps  not  far  from  their 
northwest  corner.  On  the  western  part  of  the  hill  was  an  ancient 
grove,  probably  afterwards  an  open  square,  called  the  Loretum,5 
said  to  have  been  the  burial-place  of  Titus  Tatius,  from  which 
two  streets  were  named,  the  vicus  Loreti  maioris  and  the  vicus  Loreti 
minoris.6  Here  too  was  another  open  space,  the  Armilustrium,7 
where  the  festival  of  the  same  name  was  celebrated  on  the 
19th  of  October.  This  also  was  said  to  have  been  the  burial- 
place  of  Tatius.  At  a  later  time  it  was  largely  built  up,  but 
there  was  a  vicus  Armilustri8  which  probably  followed  the 
general  line  of  the  modern  via  di  S.  Sabina  and  via  del  Priorato. 
The  Mappa  Aurea 9  was  probably  a  street  on  the  hill  above  the 
Circus  Maximus.  Platanonis  of  the  Notitia  was  also  probably 
a  vicus,  and  Nymphea  tria  a  fountain.  It  would  be  natural  to 
have  long  flights  of  steps  to  the  top  of  the  hill  on  the  river 
side,  and  the  Scalae  Oassii  of  the  Notitia  was  probably  one  of 
these. 

Augustus  divided  the  Aventine  between  two  regions,  making 


1  Mitt.  1894,  320-327.  2  Bas.  Capit.  Reg.  xii. 

8  Spart.  Vit.  Came.  9;  Viet.  Caes.  21;  Gilbert,  III.  443;  CIL.  vi.  9684. 

4  Not.  Reg.  xii. 

6  Varro.  LL.  v.  152 ;  Dionys.  iii.  43 ;  PI.  NH.  xv.  138 ;  Fest  360 ;  Serv.  ad 
Aen.  viii.  276;  Gilbert,  II.  236-237;  Jordan,  I.  3.  161-163;  BC.  1905,  215-216. 

6  Bas.  Capit.  Reg.  xiii. 

*  Varro,  LL.  v.  153 ;  vi.  22 ;  Fest.  Epit.  19 ;  Plut.  Rom.  23.  For  a  false 
identification  with  the  Circus  Maximus,  cf.  Gilbert,  I.  131-132. 

8  CIL.  vi.  802,  31069;  Bull.  d.  1st.  1870,  88;  Merlin,  op.  cit.  313-315. 

9  CIL.  xv.  7182;  Not.  Reg.  xiii;  Jordan,  I.  3.  170;  Merlin,  op.  cit.  320. 


THE   AVENTINE  — REGION   XIII.  415 

the  vicus  Piscinae  Publicae  the  boundary.  The  west  part  of 
the  hill  and  the  level  ground  to  the  south  where  the  ware- 
houses stood,  formed  region  XIII,  called  Aventinus ;  the  east 
part  of  the  hill  and  the  site  afterward  occupied  by  the  baths 
of  Caracalla  constituted  region  XII,  called  Piscina  Pnblica.1 
This  was  a  public  reservoir  situated  just  outside  the  porta 
Capena  and  first  mentioned  in  215  B.C.  It  had  ceased  to  exist 
in  the  fourth  century. 

KEGION  XIII. 

Temples  and  Altars.  —  According  to  tradition,  the  oldest 
shrines  in  this  region  were  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  above  the 
porta  Trigemina,  where  the  Cacus  legend  was  localized  and 
Hercules  was  said  to  have  built  an  altar  to  luppiter  Inventor.2 
Near  by  was  an  altar  of  Evander 3  of  like  antiquity. 

The  oldest  and  by  far  the  most  important  temple  was  that  of 
Diana,4  ascribed  by  tradition  to  Servius  Tullius,  who  assembled 
here  the  representatives  of  the  surrounding  Latin  towns  and 
built  this  temple  as  the  common  sanctuary  of  the  league.  It 
was  rebuilt  by  Cornificius  in  the  reign  of  Augustus,  and  is 
probably  represented  on  a  fragment  of  the  Marble  Plan,5  where 
it  is  drawn  as  octastyle  and  dipteral,  surrounded  by  a  double 
colonnade.  Its  site  was  west  of  S.  Prisca  on  the  clivus  Publi- 
cius.8 

At  the  extreme  northern  point  of  the  A  ventine  was  .the 
temple  of  Luna,7  also  ascribed  to  Servius  Tullius.  It  Avas  de- 
stroyed in  the  fire  of  Nero,  and  is  mentioned  only  infrequently. 
Near  the  temple  of  Diana  was  a  group  of  three  temples,  dedi- 
cated to  the  three  divinities  of  the  Capitoline  triad,  Jupiter, 

1  Fest.  213;  Liv.  xxiii.  32;  Cic.  ad  Q.  Fr.  iii.  7;  Jordan,  II.  106-107. 

2  Solin.  i.  7-8.  «  Dionys.  i.  32. 

4  Liv.  i.  45;  Fest.  343;  Oros.  v.  12;  Dionys.  iv.  26;  Suet.  Aug.  29;  Gilbert, 
II.  236-241 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  157-159. 

«  BC.  1891,  210-216;  Jordan,  FUR.  2.  «  Mart.  vi.  64.  12. 

i  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  41;  Liv.  xl.  2;  App.  Bell.  Civ.  i.  78;  Auct.  de  Vir.  III.  65; 
Vitr.  v.  5.  8 ;  Ov.  Fast.  iii.  883 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  160-161. 


416  TOPOGKAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

Juno,  and  Minerva.  Of  these  three,  that  of  luno  Regina  stood 
near  the  present  church  of  S.  Sabina.  It  was  dedicated  in 
392  B.C.  by  Camillas,1  who  placed  within  it  a  wooden  statue  of 
Juno,  which  he  had  brought  from  the  captured  city  of  Veii. 
The  temple  was  afterward  rebuilt  by  Augustus.  The  temple 
of  Minerva 2  is  first  mentioned  in  the  time  of  the  second  Punic 
war,  as  being  the  sanctuary  and  headquarters  of  the  guild  of 
scribae  and  histriones  established  by  Livius  Andronicus.  It 
was  restored  by  Augustus,  and  is  represented  on  the  Marble 
Plan 3  as  peripteral,  hexastyle,  with  thirteen  columns  on  each 
side.  The  temple  of  luppiter  Libertas  is  mentioned  only  twice,4 
but  it  probably  dated  from  the  early  republican  period. 

In  the  vicus  Loreti  maioris  stood  a  temple  of  Vortumnus, 
and  near  it  a  temple  of  Census.5  The  first  contained  a  portrait 
of  M.  Fulvius  Flaccus,  in  the  robes  of  a  triumphator,  and  the 
second  a  similar  portrait  of  L.  Papirius  Cursor.  It  is  probable, 
therefore,  that  the  temple  of  Vortumnus  was  built  by  Fulvius 
in  264  B.C.,  and  that  of  Consus  by  Papirius  in  272,  on  the 
occasion  of  their  triumphs. 

The  place  of  the  temple  of  Libertas,6  built  by  Ti.  Sempronius 
Gracchus  in  238  B.C.,  is  unknown,  and  this  temple  has  been 
identified  by  some  with  that  of  luppiter  Libertas,  mentioned 
above.  The  site  of  the  only  remaining  temple  on  this  part  of 
the  hill,  that  of  luppiter  Dolichenus,7  a  deity  whose  cult  was  in- 
troduced from  Doliche  in  Syria,  is  shown  by  inscriptions  to 


i  Liv.  v.  22,  23,  31 ;  Dionys.  xiii.  3 ;  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  6 ;  OIL.  vi.  364-365 ; 
Jordan,  I.  3.  165-167. 

2Fest.  257,  333;  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  6;  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  728;  Gilbert,  II.  233-235, 
238;  Jordan,  I.  3.  159-160;  BC.  1891,  216;  GIL.  i«.  p.  312. 

8  Jordan,  FUR.  2. 

*  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  6 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  167. 

6Fest.  209;  OIL.  i2.  p.  326;  Gilbert,  II.  191,  234-238;  III.  445;  Richter, 
Top.2  206  n. 

6  Fest.  Epit.  121 ;  Liv.  xxiv.  16 ;  Gilbert,  III.  97;  Jordan,  I.  3. 167. 

7  Not.  Reg.  xiii;  OIL.  vi.  366,  406-413;  Gilbert,  III.  113-114;  Jordan,  I.  3. 
167-168;  BC.  1893,  5-7,  223-244. 


THE   AVENTINE  — EEGION   XIII.  417 

have  been  near  the  church  of  S.  Alessio.  The  lucus  Stimulae,1  a 
deity  afterward  confused  with  Semele,  was  probably  near  the 
river  between  the  horrea  Galbiana  and  the  hill. 

Baths.  —  Aside  from  temples,  the  only  buildings  of  impor- 
tance on  the  west  Aventine  appear  to  have  been  baths.  The 
first  of  these,  the  thermae  Suranae  or  balnea  Surae,2  were  built 
either  by  Licinius  Sura,  a  friend  of  Trajan,  or  by  Trajan  him- 
self in  honor  of  this  friend,  who  lived  on  the  Aventine. 
These  baths  are  represented  on  fragments  of  the  Marble  Plan,3? 
and  occupied  the  site  of  the  modern  restaurant  Cesarini,  north 
of  S.  Prisca,  where  some  remains  have  been  found.  With  the 
thermae  Suranae  there  are  mentioned  in  the  Notitia  the  thermae 
Decianae,4  which  were  built  by  the  emperor  Decius  about  250  A.D. 
Plans  of  the  thermae  Decianae,  drawn  by  Palladio  about  1600, 
have  recently  been  found,  and  some  remains  of  the  buildings 5 
under  the  casino  of  the  vigna  Torlonia.  These  thermae  evi- 
dently occupied  a  large  space  midway  between  S.  Prisca  and 
S.  Alessio. 

Horrea.  —  All  along  the  bank  of  the  Tiber  below  the  porta 
Trigemina  docks  and  wharves  had  been  built,  and  south  of 
the  Aventine  the  Emporium  (p.  86)  had  been1  constructed. 
During  the  empire,  the  level  ground  between  the  Emporium, 
the  southwest  slope  of  the  Aventine,  and  the  line  of  the 
Aurelian  wall  was  gradually  occupied  by  a  series  of  enormous 
horrea,  or  warehouses,  in  which  were  stored  goods  of  every 
description. 


iv.  xxxix.  12,  13;  Schol.  Juv.  ii.  3;  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  503;  OIL.  vi.  9897; 
Jordan,  I.  3.  171. 

2  Dio  Cass.  Ixviii.  15;  Viet.  Caes.  13;  Epit.  13;  Spart.  Vit .  Hadr.  2 ;  OIL. 
vi.  1703;  Jordan,  I.  3.  156-157. 

8  Jordan,  .Ft//?.  41. 

4  Eutrop.  ix.  4;  Cassiod.  Chron.  a.  252;  OIL.  xv.  7181;  Chronogr.  a.  354, 
p.  147;  Jordan,  1.3.163. 

«  BC.  1878,  253;  1887,  266;  1893,  240-241 ;  Lanciani,  Ruins,  545. 


418 


TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 


In  the  second  century  B.C.  the  Sulpicii  possessed  large 
estates  in  this  district,  which  were  called  the  praedia  Galbiana. 
Here  Ser.  Sulpicius  Galba,  consul  in  144  or  108  B.C.,  was  buried ; 
and  at  some  time  before  the  end  of  the  republic  the  horrea  Galbi- 
ana, Galbae,  or  Sulpicia,  were  built  here,1  which  afterward  came 
into  the  possession  of  the  government,  as  in  the  reign  of  Augus- 
tus they  were  directly  under  imperial  control.  The  emperor 


FIG.  83.  — THE  HORREA  GALBIANA. 

Galba  enlarged  their  capacity,2  but  great  care  was  taken  not  to 
disturb  the  tomb  of  the  consular  which  was  discovered  just  in 
front  of  the  horrea.  To  meet  the  increasing  demands  of  com- 
merce other  horrea3  were  built,  so  that  in  the  fourth  century 
there  were  at  least  fourteen  general  warehouses,  named  after 
individuals,  besides  the  large  number  which  Alexander  Severus 
caused  to  be  erected  in  all  parts  of  the  city,  and  doubtless  other 
special  storehouses.  These  horrea  were  the  horrea  Galbae,  Ves- 
pasiani,4  Nervae,6  Oaesaris,6  Agrippiana  et  Germaniciana,7  Aniciana,8 


1  Hor.  Od.  iv.  12.  18,  and  Porphyr.  ad  loc. ;  Gilbert,  III.  285;  Jordan,  I.  3. 
176. 

2  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  146. 

»  Gilbert,  III.  284-285 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  176-177. 
*  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  146.  «  OIL.  vi.  4240. 

6  OIL.  vi.  8681.  *  OIL.  vi.  9972. 

8  Not.  Reg.  xiii. 


THE   AVENTINE  —  REGION  XIII.  419 

Leoniana,1  Lolliana,2  Petroniana,3  Postumiana,4  Seiana,5  Sempronia,6 
Q.  Tinei  Sacerdotis,'  Volusiana.8  Of  these  the  Sempronia  were 
the  oldest,  dating  from  the  time  of  the  Gracchi.  The  horrea 
Germaniciana  were  perhaps  those  of  which  the  ruins  have  been 
found  at  the  foot  of  the  Palatine,  next  to  the  temple  of  Augus- 
tus (p.  165),  but  nearly  all  the  rest  were  probably  in  region 
XIII. 

Recent  excavations,9  occasioned  by  the  laying  out  of  new 
streets  in  this  quarter,  have  brought  to  light  many  of  the  foun- 
dation walls  of  these  horrea,  especially  of  the  horrea  Galbae, 
which  were  the  largest  and  most  important  of  all,  being  the 
storehouses  of  the  grain  which  belonged  to  the  government 
(annona  publica).  They  were  directly  back  of  the  Emporium, 
parallel  to  the  river  bank,  and  formed  a  rectangle  200  metres 
long  and  155  wide,  inclosed  by  a  wall.  The  warehouses  were 
divided  symmetrically  into  sections  separated  by  courts.  These 
courts  were  surrounded  by  travertine  colonnades,  through 
which  opened  the  chambers  of  the  warehouses. 

In  this  quarter  were  probably  the  porticus  Fabaria,10  a  sort 
of  produce  exchange,  the  vicus  Frumentarius,11  and  the  forum 
Pistorum.12 

South  of  the  horrea  Galbiana  is  a  remarkable  hill,  the  mons 
Testaceus 13  (monte  Testaccio),  35  metres  high  and  about  1  kilo- 
metre in  circumference,  composed  entirely  of  fragments  of 
earthen  jars  (amphorae,  doliold)  in  which  corn  and  produce 
of  all  kinds  had  been  brought  to  the  horrea  from  Africa  and 
Spain.  Many  of  these  jars  had  inscriptions  upon  the  handles 
or  necks,  and  a  large  number  of  them  have  been  recovered. 

1  OIL.  vi.  237.  6  GIL.  vi.  238. 

2  Jordan,  FUR.  51 ;  OIL.  vi.  4226.  6  Fest.  290. 

8  OIL.  vi.  3971.  "  Marini,  loc.  cit. 
4  Marini,  Iscrizioni  Doliari,  279.                      8  OIL.  vi.  9973. 

9  EC.  1885,  51-53,  110-129;  Mitt.  1886,  42-44,  G2,  65-78;   Ann.  d.  1st.  1885, 
223-231 ;  WS.  1885,  224,  251.  »  Bas.  Capit.  Reg.  xiii ;   OIL.  vi.  814. 

1°  Not.  Reg.  xiii.  12  Not.  Reg.  xiii ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  179. 

w  Ann  d.  1st.  1878,  118-192;  1885,  232-234;  Jordan,  I.  3. 177-178. 


420  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

They  date  from  140  to  251  A.D.,  but  it  is  certain  that  the  dump- 
ing of  debris  on  this  spot  began  as  early  as  the  time  of  Augus- 
tus, and  that  the  hill  had  reached  its  present  height  by  the 
middle  of  the  first  century.  Beneath  the  surface  on  one  side 
of  the  hill  a  tomb  of  the  Rusticelii  has  been  discovered,  which 
was  covered  up  by  a  sort  of  land-slide.  The  distribution  of 
debris  shows  that  this  hill  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  horrea. 

Private  Houses.  —  On  the  southwest  side  of  the  Aventine, 
above  the  porta  Lavernalis,  there  were  probably  many  houses 
of  wealthy  Romans,  among  them  that  of  the  Oaecinae  Decii,1  and 
especially  the  privata  Traiani.2  This  was  the  house  of  Trajan, 
while  still  a  private  citizen,  and  its  ruins  have  been  found  be- 
neath the  Benedictine  monastery  of  St.  Anselm.  During  the 
empire  private  residences  multiplied  rapidly  on  all  parts  of 
the  Aventine,  but  our  knowledge  of  them  is  in  most  cases  con- 
fined to  the  names  of  their  owners.3 

Tomb  of  Cestius.  —  Close  to  the  porta  Ostiensis  is  a  pyrami- 
dal tomb,  the  burial-place  of  a  certain  C.  Cestius,4  who  died 
before  12  B.C.  When  the  wall  of  Aurelian  was  built,  the  pyra- 
mid was  utilized  in  such  a  way  that  it  stands  directly  in  the 
line  of  the  wall.  Inscriptions5  on  the  two  sides  record  the 
name  and  titles  of  Cestius,  and  a  third  inscription  on  the  east 
side  describes  the  circumstances  of  the  erection  of  the  monu- 
ment. The  pyramid  itself  is  of  brick-faced  concrete,  covered 
with  white  marble.  It  is  about  35  metres  high  and  rests  upon 
a  base  of  travertine  30  metres  square.  In  the  interior  is  the 
burial  chamber,  5.95  metres  long  and  4.10  wide. 

Outside  of  the  porta  Ostiensis,  a  necropolis  like  that  on  the 
via  Salaria  has  been  found,  containing  many  cinerary  urns 
of  slaves  and  freedmen,  with  fragments  of  sarcophagi  and 
skeletons.8 

1  GIL.  xv.  7420;  vi.  1192.  2  Not.  Reg.  xii;  Jordan,  I.  3.  1(58. 

3  For  all  the  available  evidence  on  this  point,  see  Merlin,  op.  cit.  333-361. 
*  Cic.  Phil.  iii.  26.  «  OIL.  vi.  1374.  «  BC.  1897,  310-31G. 


THE   AVENTINE  —  REGION   XII.  421 

REGION  XII. 

The  eastern  portion  of  the  Aventine  was  connected  in  legend 
with  Remus,1  and  it  was  here  that  he  observed  the  auspices  at 
the  founding  of  the  city,  while  Romulus  did  the  same  on  the 
Palatine.  The  spot  was  called  the  Kemoria  and  was  near  the 
church  of  S.  Balbina,  but  whether  it  was  always  an  open  space 
or  was  marked  by  some  monument,  we  do  not  know.  It  was 
also  called  Saxum,2  '  the  Rock,'  and  just  below  it,  on  the  north- 
west slope  of  the  hill  toward  the  Circus  Maximus,  was  the  tem- 
ple of  Bona  Dea  Subsaxana.3  The  date  of  the  founding  of  this 
temple  is  unknown,  but  it  was  probably  in  the  regal  period. 
It  was  restored  by  Livia,  the  wife  of  Augustus,  and  afterward 
by  Hadrian,  but  no  traces  of  it  have  been  found.  The  story 
told  by  Ovid  that  it  was  dedicated  by  a  Vestal  Virgin  of  the 
Claudian  family  is  probably  based  on  an  erroneous  identifica- 
tion of  this  temple  with  an  aedicula4  which  a  Vestal,  Licinia, 
dedicated  in  123  B.C. 

It  was  on  this  part  of  the.  hill  that  the  ara  lovis  Elicii5  stood, 
the  erection  of  which  was  ascribed  to  Numa  for  the  purpose 
of  drawing  (elicere)  information  from  Jupiter,  and  a  shrine  of 
Silvanus.6 

The  horti  Serviliani 7  were  probably  in  the  south  part  of  this 
region,  beyond  the  line  of  the  wall  of  Aurelian,  and  west  of 
the  via  Ardeatina.  Like  most  of  the  great  parks  (p.  464), 
they  had  become  part  of  the  imperial  domain,  and  were  a 
favorite  resort  of  Nero  and  Vitellius.  They  contained  some 

1  Fest.  276;  Dionys.  i.  85-87;  Plut.  Rom.  9,  11;   Ov.  Fast.  v.  148-150;   Gil- 
bert, II.  201-204. 

2  Cic.  pro  Domo,  136. 

»  Macrob.  Sat.  i.  12.  21 ;  Spart.  Vit.  Hadr.  19;  Gilbert,  II.  206-211 ;  III.  445; 
Jordan,  I.  3.  181-183. 

4  Ov.  Fast.  v.  155-156;  Cic.  pro  Domo,  136. 

6  Liv.  i.  20;  Varro,  LL.  vi.  95;  Ov.  Fast.  iii.  327-331;  Gilbert,  II.  153. 

«  OIL.  vi.  543. 

i  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  65;  Hist.  iii.  38;  Suet.  Nero,  47;  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  23,  25,  36; 
CIL.  vi.  8673,  8674. 


422  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

famous  works  of  art.  In  the  same  district  was  a  vinea  publica, 
which  is  mentioned  only  in  one  inscription.1  This  states  that 
Vespasian  recovered  it  from  private  individuals  who  had  wrong- 
fully taken  possession  of  it.  The  barracks  of  the  cohors  IV 
vigihim  was  on  this  part  of  the  hill  just  north  of  S.  Saba,  where 
inscriptions  relating  to  the  establishment  have  been  found.2 

Of  the  private  houses  in  this  quarter  special  mention  should 
be  made  of  the  domus  Oilonis,3  or  house  of  Gilo,  a  distinguished 
citizen  of  the  time  of  Severus,  who  lived  near  S.  Balbina,  and 
of  the  privata  Hadriani,4  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  situated 
northeast  of  the  porta  Ostiensis. 

Thermae  Antoninianae  or  Caracallae.  —  The  most  magnifi- 
cent monument  in  region  XII  was  the  baths  of  Caracalla,5 
south  of  the  Aventine,  between  the  via  Appia  and  the  via  Ar- 
,  deatina.  [  These  baths  were  the  largest  ever  built  in  Rome 
1  except  those  of  Diocletian  (p.  493),  and  their  ruins  are  among 
the  most  imposing  in  the  city.     They  were  begun  about  212 
A.D.,  opened  by  Caracalla  about  216,  and  finished  by  Elagaba- 
lus  and  Alexander  Severus.     They  were  restored  by  Aurelian, 
and  by  Theodoric  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century,  and 
accommodated  sixteen  hundred  bathers  at   once,  —  half  the 
number  provided  for  in  the  baths  of  Diocletian. 
f      The  ruins 6  of  the  thermae  Antoninianae  are  better  preserved 

l  CIL.  vi.  933;  BC.  1882, 155. 

*Ann.d.  7sM858,  285-289;  CIL.  vi.  219;  5(7.1902,204-206;  Jordan,  1. 1. 
308-309;  Gilbert,  III.  197. 

»  Jordan,  FUR.  43;  Viet.  Epit.  20;  CIL.  xv.  7448;  Bull.  d.  1st.  1859,  164; 
NS.  1884,  223. 

4  Jul.  Capit.  Vit.  Aur.  5;  Bull.  d.  1st.  1859,  15.  (For  other  private  houses 
in  this  region,  see  p.  420,  n.  3.) 

6  Spart.  Vit.  Sever.  21 ;  Carac.  9;  Lamprid.  Vit.  Elagdb.  17;  Alex.  25;  Viet. 
Caes.  21;  Chronogr.  a.  354,  pp.  147-148;  CIL.  vi.  794, 1170-1173, 9232 ;  Gilbert, 
III.  298;  Jordan,  I.  3.  189-196. 

6  NS.  1878, 346 ;  1879, 15,  40, 114, 141,  314 ;  1881,  57,  89 ;  CR.  1902,  286 ;  Mitt. 
1893,  294-295.  The  latest  and  most  complete  description  and  restoration  of 
these  thermae  is  by  Hiilsen  in  Iwanoff's  Architektonische  Studien,  Heft.  Ill, 
herausgeg.  vom  kais.  deutsch.  arch.  Institut,  1898. 


THE  AVENTINE  — REGION  XII. 


423 


than  those  of  any  other  Koraan  baths,  and  furnish  considerable 
information  as  to  the  arrangements  and  service  of  this  most 
characteristic  Roman  institution.  They  are  divided  into  two 
parts,  —  the  group  of  buildings  which  form  the  baths  proper, 
and  a  vast  peribolus  with  annexes  of  various  sorts.  The  whole 
area  covered  by  the  establishment  is  quadrangular,  353  metres 


FlQ.    84.  —  RpINS   OF   THE   BATHS    OF  CARACALLA.      THE    FRIGIDARIUM. 

by  335,  with  semicircular  projections  on  the  east  and  west 
sides.  To  provide  so  large  a  level  space,  it  was  necessary  to 
make  an  artificial  platform  at  a  high  level,  and  thereby  to 
destroy  or  cover  up  many  existing  buildings.  Excavations 
at  the  south  corner  of  the  area  have  disclosed  the  peristyle 
and  adjoining  rooms  of  a  private  house  of  Hadrian's  time,  with 


424  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

mosaic  pavements  and  the  ordinary  decorations.  The  walls  of 
these  earlier  buildings  were  utilized  in  supporting  the  plat- 
form of  the  baths.  Covering  a  part  of  this  site,  and  adjacent 
to  it,  were  the  gardens  of  Asinius,  horti  Asiniani,1  which  are 
mentioned  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  century. 

The  front  of  the  thermae  was  parallel  with  the  via  Appia, 
but  some  distance  back  from  it,  so  that  Caracalla  built  a  new 
street,  the  via  Nova,  directly  from  the  Circus  Maximus  to  the 
main  entrance  of  the  baths  in  the  middle  of  the  northeast  side. 
The  central  building  is  216  metres  long  and  112  wide,  rectan- 
gular except  in  the  middle  of  the  southwest  side,  where  the 
caldarium  projects.  The  arrangement  of  parts  is  that  common 
to  all  thermae,  and  consists  of  three  main  divisions,  frigida- 
rium,  so-called  tepidarium,  and  caldarium,  with  many  smaller 
apartments  for  dressing,  anointing,  private  bathing,  service,  and 
the  various  performances  which  took  place  within  a  Roman 
bath.  The  frigidarium  is  in  the  centre  of  the  northeast  front  of 
the  building,  and  is  a  rectangular  hall  divided  by  two  rows  of 
columns  into  three  sections,  a  vestibule  at  each  end  and  a  great 
swimming  pool  in  the  centre.  This  pool  is  53  metres  long  and 
24  wide,  and  had  a  capacity  of  1430  cubic  metres  of  water. 
Wide  flights  of  steps  led  down  into  it  from  each  end.  The 
very  lofty  ceiling  of  this  hall  was  flat,  and  supported  by  eight 
monolithic  columns  of  granite,  four  on  each  side.  Between 
these  columns  were  smaller  columns,  placed  in  pairs,  which 
supported  an  entablature  running  round  the  hall.  Between 
the  monoliths  on  the  southwest  side  were  two  niches.  The 
walls  of  this  hall  are  standing,  but  of  columns  and  decoration 
nothing  but  fragments  and  debris  remain.  This  frigidarium 
has  usually  been  identified  with  the  cella  soliaris,2  which  is 
mentioned  as  having  excited  the  wonder  of  architects  because 
of  its  enormous  ceiling,  which  was  supposed  to  have  been 
supported  by  concealed  girders.  There  are  no  traces  of  these 

i  Front,  de  Aquis,  21.  2  Spart.  Vit.  Carac.  9. 


THE   A VENTINE  — REGION  XII.  425 

girders,  but  several  iron  hooks  about  a  metre  long  have  been 
found,  which  evidently  pierced  the  concrete  ceiling  and  per- 
haps attached  it  to  the  beams  above.  According  to  the  most 
recent  explanation l  cella  soliaris  was  a  term  applied  to  an  apart- 
ment containing  several  hot  baths  (solia) — in  these  thermae  the 
circular  caldarium  (see  below)— and  the  greater  part  at  least 
of  its  vaulted  ceiling  was  supported  by  a  system  of  trusses  of 
bronze  or  wood. 

Behind  the  frigidarium  is  a  middle  hall,  ordinarily  called 
the  tepidarium.  This  has  the  same  dimensions  as  the  main 
part  of  the  frigidarium,  and  at  each  end  are  two  similar  vesti- 
bules. The  ceiling  was  formed  by  three  quadripartite  vaults, 
resting  on  eight  monolithic  columns  of  gray  granite.  Only  one 
of  these  columns  still  exists,  and  that  is  in  the  piazza  S. 
Trinita  in  Florence.  Each  of  the  long  sides  of  this  hall  has 
three  niches,  or  recesses,  in  two  of  which  were  marble  baths. 
Directly  in  front  of  the  entrance  from  the  frigidarium  is  a  cir- 
cular basin  about  one  metre  deep  and  eleven  metres  in  diameter, 
which  was  also  lined  with  marble. 

The  third  great  hall,  the  caldarium,  connected  with  the  tepi- 
darium by  a  large  vestibule,  is  circular  in  shape,  and  projects 
for  half  its  diameter  beyond  the  line  of  the  rectangle.  •  This 
hall  is  35  metres  in  diameter,  and  was  surmounted  by  a  domed 
ceiling  resting  on  eight  massive  pilasters.  Between  the  pilas- 
ters are  the  niches  which  contained  the  hot  baths.  In  the 
pilasters  spiral  staircases  were  built,  and  the  floor  and  side 
walls  were  lined  with  tiles  communicating  with  hypocausts 
beneath.  The  greater  part  of  the  walls  of  this  hall  has  been 
destroyed,  only  two  pilasters  having  been  left  standing  in  any- 
thing like  their  original  form,  and  of  the  decoration  nothing 
remains  but  insignificant  fragments. 

On  either  side  of  the  caldarium  are  three  large  apartments 
for  various  purposes  of  toilet  and  attendance,  and  at  each  end 

Melanges,  1909,  401-406. 


426 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


of  the  building  is  a  very  large  rectangular  peristyle,  usually 
called  a  palaestra.  The  two  main  entrances  of  the  baths  opened 
into  these  peristyles,  which  were  surrounded  by  a  colonnade 
supporting  an  entablature  and  a  gallery.  The  frieze  was  cov- 
ered with  reliefs  representing  scenes  from  the  chase.  One  frag- 
ment of  this  frieze  remains  in  situ,  in  the  south  peristyle.  In 
the  rear  of  each  peristyle  is  a  large  apse.  A  considerable 


I   Illlllllll  mimUM! 


FIG.  85.  —  PLAN  OF  THE  BATHS  OF  CARACALLA. 

portion  of  the  mosaic  pavement  from  one  of  these  peristyles, 
representing  athletes,  is  now  in  the  Lateran  museum.  Other 
fragments  of  this  pavement,  and  some  of  the  capitals  of  the 
colonnades,  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  peristyles. 

In  some  parts  of  the  building  there  were  upper  stories,  and 
in  general  these  thermae  illustrate  in  a  most  striking  way  the 
characteristic  methods  of  Roman  construction,  especially  in  the 
enormous  concrete  vaults. 


THE    AVENTINE  —  REGION   XII.  427 

The  space  between  this  central  block  of  buildings  and  those 
which  formed  the  inclosure  was  laid  out  as  a  park  and  adorned 
with  works  of  art.  The  whole  northeast  side  of  the  peribolus 
and  the  adjacent  parts  of  the  northwest  and  southeast  sides 
were  inclosed  with  a  wall,  against  which  on  the  outside  were 
built  rows  of  small  vaulted  chambers  opening  outward.  In 
front  of  these  chambers  was  a  porticus.  The  west  halves 
of  the  northwest  and  southeast  sides  of  the  peribolus  were 
occupied  by  semicircular  projections,  like  enormous  'apses,  in 
each  of  which  was  a  central  open  hall  with  a  colonnade,  flanked 
on  one  side  by  a  swimming  pool  and  on  the  other  by  an  octag- 
onal room.  The  central  and  larger  part  of  the  southwest  side 
was  occupied  by  a  stadium,  or  rather  half  a  stadium,  as  there 
was  never  an  inner  half.  This  stadium  had  tiers  of  marble 
seats,  and  behind  it  was  the  reservoir  of  the  baths,  built  in  the 
form  of  a  rectangle  and  consisting  of  sixty-four  small  chambers 
arranged  in  parallel  rows  and  in  two  stories.  The  capacity  of 
this  reservoir  was  33,000  cubic  metres,  and  the  water  was  sup- 
plied by  a  branch  of  the  aqua  Marcia,  the  aqua  Antoniniana, 
which  was  built  by  Caracalla  and  crossed  the  via  Appia  by 
the  so-called  arch  of  Drusus  (p.  434). 

These  thermae  were  magnificently  decorated  and  filled  with 
works  of  art.  It  was  here  that  the  Farnese  Bull  and  the  Her- 
cules in  Naples  were  found. 

Near  these  baths  were  the  septem  domus  Parthorum,1  —  some 
of  the  numerous  houses  which  Septimius  Severus  built  and 
presented  to  his  friends. 

*  Not.  Reg.  xii ;  Viet.  Epit.  20. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
THE   CAELIAN.     REGIONS  I  AND   II. 

The  mons  Caelius  stretches  west  from  the  tableland  which 
forms  the  east  part  of  the  city,  in  a  long  and  irregular  tongue 
which  ends  in  two  promontories,  so  to  speak,  —  an  eastern, 
where  the  church  of  SS.  Quattro  Coronati  now  stands,  and  a 
western,  the  site  of  SS.  Giovanni  e  Paolo.  Part  of  the  north- 
ern end  of  this  tongue  seems  to  have  been  called  Sucusa  (p.  40), 
but  whether  on  the  eastern  or  western  side  is  a  matter  of  dis- 
pute.1 The  same  uncertainty  attaches  to  the  exact  limits  of 
that  part  of  the  hill  which  was  called  Oaeliolus 2  or  Oaeliolum, 
but  this  was  probably  near  SS.  Quattro  Coronati.  The  earliest 
name  for  the  whole  hill  is  said  to  have  been  mons  Querquetulanus,3 
from  the  oak  groves  which  covered  it ;  but  this  was  perhaps 
an  invention  of  the  antiquarians  to  explain  the  porta  Querque- 
tulana  of  the  Servian  wall.  Caelius  was  connected  by  them 
with  the  settlement  of  Caeles  Vibenna  and  his  Etruscan  com- 
panions.4 In  the  Eegionary  Catalogues  region  II  is  called 
Oaelemontium.5  In  the  reign  of  Tiberius  the  senate  voted  to 
name  this  hill  Augustus  in  his  honor,6  but  this  designation,  if 
ever  adopted,  did  not  survive  the  emperor's  lifetime.  The 
valley  between  the  Caelian  and  the  Carinae  is  spoken  of  as  a 

1  Wissowa,  Satura  Viadrina,  15;  Jordan,  I.  3.  224;  Richter,  Top*  37. 

2  Varro,  LL.  v.  47;  Cic.  de  Har.  Resp.  32;  Mart.  xii.  18.  6;  Gilbert,  I.  163; 
II.  32 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  220-224. 

8  Tac.  Ann.  iv.  65. 

4  Claud.  Or.  deLugdun.;  Fest.  355,  Epit.  44;  Gilbert,  II.  18,  32-41;  Jor- 
dan, 1. 1.  186-188. 

6  Not.  Reg.  ii;  OIL.  vi.  10099;  Mitt.  1892,  270. 
6  Tac.  Ann.  iv.  64;  Suet.  Tib.  48. 

428 


THE    CAELIAN.  429 

locus  Ceroliensis,  or  Ceroniensis,1  from  which  we  may  infer  the 
substantive  Oerolia,  or  Ceroniae. 

All  of  the  Caelian  was  included  within  the  Servian  wall 
except  the  eastern  part,  where  the  hill  joins  the  tableland. 
"Whether  it  also  had  its  own  line  of  fortification,  like  the  Palatine 
and  the  Capitoline,  and  whether  the  remains  of  opus  qua- 
dratum  which  have  been  found  under  S.  Gregorio  opposite 
the  Palatine,  resembling  in  construction  the  old  Servian  wall, 
belong  to  it,  is  a  disputed  question.2 

In  Augustus's  division  of  the  city,  the  Caelian  hill  fell  into 
three  regions,  —  the  western  and  southern  slopes  into  region  I, 
the  main  portion  into  II,  and  the  extreme  eastern  part  into  V. 
The  hill  was  thickly  populated  during  the  republic,  and  we  are 
told  of  an  apartment  house  belonging  to  Ti.  Claudius  Centuma- 
lus 3  which  the  owner  was  ordered  to  demolish  because  it  was 
so  high  as  to  cut  off  the  view  of  the  augurs.  In  27  A.D.  it  suf- 
fered severely  from  a  fire,4  and  afterward  it  became  a  favorite 
place  for  the  residences  of  the  rich,  which,  with  their  gardens, 
seem  to  have  occupied  a  considerable  part  of  the  whole  hill. 

Streets  and  Squares.  —  The  general  plan  of  regions  I  and  II 
can  be  made  out  with  some  degree  of  certainty,  because  of  the 
fact  that  the  modern  streets  have  not  infrequently  followed  the 
line  of  the  ancient,  the  pavement  of  imperial  times  being  still 
preserved  beneath  the  present  level.5  The  west  boundary 
(p.  107)  of  region  I  was  the  street  leading  from  the  Colosseum 
to  the  Circus  Maximus,  the  modern  via  S.  Gregorio,  beneath 
which  the  old  cloaca  has  been  found,  and  over  that  the  pave- 
ment of  the  republican  period,  6.70  metres  above  the  mean 
level  of  the  Tiber.-  The  later  pavement,  somewhat  above  which 
the  arch  of  Constantine  stands,  is  about  12  metres  above  the 


1  Varro,  LL.  v.  47;  Jordan,  I.  3.  221. 

2  Ann.  d.  1st.  1871,  47;  cf.  Varro,  LL.  v.  46;  Jordan,  I.  1.  206;  3.  224. 

«  Cic.  de  Off.  iii.  66.          *  Tac.  Ann.  iv.  64.         «  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  516-518. 


430  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

river,  and  the  modern  pavement  about  15  metres.  The  ancient 
name  of  this  street  is  not  known.  The  via  Appia,  which  formed 
the  southwest  boundary  of  region  I  from  the  porta  Capena  to 
the  northeast  corner  of  the  baths  of  Caracalla,  was  a  little  dis- 
tance to  the  north  of  the  modern  via  di  porta  S.  Sebastiano. 

From  the  four  sides  of  the  hill,  —  north,  south,  east,  and 
west,  —  streets  led  to  a  common  meeting-place  just  a  little 
north  of  the  church  of  S.  Maria  in  Navicella,  thus  forming 
two  main  arteries  of  travel  across  the  hill  in  each  direction. 
That  on  the  west,  starting  from  the  street  between  the  Circus 
Maximus  and  the  Colosseum,  just  north  of  the  church  of  S.  Gre- 
gorio,  is  probably  the  street  which  was  known  in  the  middle 
ages  as  the  clivus  Scauri.1  The  ancient  pavement  follows  in 
general  the  via  di  SS.  Giovanni  e  Paolo.  From  the  north,  the 
vicus  Oapitis  Africae2  —  a  name  derived  probably  from  some 
statue  —  ascends  from  the  east  end  of  the  Colosseum,  in  the 
valley  between  the  two  spurs  of  the  hill,  the  ancient  pavement 
joining  the  line  of  the  via  della  Navicella.  A  continuation  of 
this  street  must  have  led  south  to  the  gate  in  the  Servian  wall 
(porta  Querquetulana?)  and  to  the  corresponding  gate  in  the 
Aurelian  wall  (porta  Metrovia  ?).  The  fourth  street  led  from 
the  common  junction  east  to  the  porta  Caelemontana,  along 
the  line  of  the  via  di  S.  Stefano,  where  many  remains  of  the 
old  pavement  have  been  found.  The  names  of  these  last  two 
streets  are  not  known  with  certainty,  but  the  name  Oaelemon- 
tium 3  may  also  have  been  applied  to  one  of  them. 

From  the  via  Appia  a  street  —  perhaps  the  vicus  Drusianus  — 
ran  northeast  over  the  hill  to  the  Lateran,  which  can  be  traced 
by  its  pavement  for  the  first  part  of  its  course,  and  corresponds 
to  the  via  della  Ferratella,  although  the  latter  is  much  more 
crooked.  The  north  boundary  of  region  II  seems  to  have  been 

*  Jordan,  I.  3.  231 ;  II.  594-595. 

2  Not.  Reg.  ii;  OIL.  vi.  8982-8987;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1882, 191-220;  Jordan,  I.  3. 
238;  BC.  1906,69-70. 

« -Bull.  Crist.  1874,  41;  BC.  1891,  342-344;  Mitt.  1892,  270. 


THE   CAELIAN.  431 

the  street  represented  by  the  via  del  SS.  Quattro  (see  p.  444), 
thought  by  some  to  be  the  Tabernola  mentioned  by  Varro.1 

Other  streets,  the  position  of  which  may  be  approximately 
determined,  are  the  vicus  Fabricii,  evidently  running  into  the 
compitum  Fabricii,2  west  of  the  buildings  of  Claudius ;  the  vicus 
Trium  Ararum,3  on  the  slope  of  the  Caelian,  north  of  the  porta 
Capena ;  the  vicus  Honoris  et  Virtutis,4  running  north  from  the 
via  Appia  near  the  temple  of  Honos  et  Virtus  ;  and  the  vicus 
Oamenarum,  probably  south  of  the  via  delle  Mole.  There  were 
two  other  streets,  the  vicus  Sulpicius  citerior  and  the  vicus  Sulpi- 
cius  ulterior,5  which  branched  off  from  the  via  Appia  near  the 
baths  of  Caracalla,  but  just  where  is  not  known.  From  the 
Notitia  and  Capitoline  Base  we  know  the  names  of  a  few  other 
streets  and  of  various  squares  or  open  piazzas,6  such  as  the 
vicus  Fortunae  Obsequentis  and  the  vicus  Pulverarius,  the  area 
Oalles,  area  Oarruces,  and  area  Pannaria,  but  their  exact  location  is 
uncertain.  The  east  portion  of  the  Caelian,  outside  the  Servian 
wall,  was  probably  the  campus  Caelemontanus,7  or  Martialis,8 
called  in  the  middle  ages  campus  Lateranensis. 

Southwest  of  the  Lateran,  and  outside  the  Aurelian  wall, 
was  a  swampy  district,  called  the  Decennium,9  or  Decenniae  ;  and 
the  hill  was  crossed  by  two  aqueducts,  the  rivus  Herculaneus  of 
the  aqua  Marcia  and  the  arcus  Neroniani  of  the  aqua  Claudia. 
On  the  western  slope  of  the  Caelian  were  two  springs,  fons 
Lollianus  and  fons  Pal(atinus  ?),  which  were  the  centres  of  local 
cults.10 

1  LL.  v.  47 ;  cf.,  however,  Jordan,  I.  3.  227. 

2  Bos.  Capit.  Reg.  i ;  Fest.  174 ;  Placidus,  45 ;  Gilbert,  II.  126. 

»  OIL.  vi.  453 ;  BC.  1892,  65 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  201,  231.     <  Lanciani,  Acque,  56. 

5  Bas.  Capit.  Reg.  i ;  Lamprid.  Vit.  Elagab.  17;  Lanciani,  loc.  cit.;  Richter, 
Top.2  341-342;  Jordan,  I.  3.  196, 208-209. 

6  Gilbert,  III.  346-347;  Richter,  Top.2  342,  344-345. 

7  CIL.  vi.  9475;  Mon.  d.  Lined,  i.  534-536;  Gilbert,  II.  96-97. 

»  Ov.  Fast.  iiL  519-523;  Fest.  Epit.  131 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  225;  BC.  1906,  66-68. 
For  an  attempt  to  identify  the  campus  Martialis  with  the  campus  Minor  of 
Catull.  55.  3,  and  to  locate  it  outside  the  porta  Capena,  see  BC.  1906,  209-223. 

»  BC.  1891,  343,  355-356 ;  CIL.  vi.  31893.  »  CIL.  vi.  157, 162. 


432  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

REGION  I. 

Temples  and  Shrines.  —  The  earliest  cult  in  this  region  was 
that  of  the  Camenae,1  dating  from  the  early  regal  period. 
According  to  tradition,  Numa  met  his  mistress,  the  nymph 
Egeria,  in  a  grove  just  outside  the  later  Servian  wall  at  the 
foot  of  the  Caelian,  in  the  valley  which  was  traversed  by  the 
vicus  Camenarum.  This  valley  was  called  vallis  Egeriae  or 
Oamenarum  (p.  90) ;  the  grove,  lucus  Egeriae  or  Camenarum  ; 
and  the  spring,  fons  Egeriae  or  Camenarum.  Directed  by 
Egeria,  Numa  built  here  a  shrine  to  the  Camenae,2  which 
was  afterward  replaced  by  a  temple.  The  grotto  containing 
the  spring  was  also  adorned  with  marble.  (For  another  spring, 
the  aqua  Mercurii,  see  p.  91.) 

The  next  oldest  sanctuary  in  this  region  was  the  temple  and 
grove  of  Mars,  situated  at  the  left  of  the  via  Appia,  2  kilometres 
from  the  porta  Capena  and  just  outside  the  Aurelian  wall.  It 
stood  on  high  ground,  and  the  rise  of  the  via  Appia  to  the 
temple  was  called  the  clivus  Martis.3  At  a  later  time  the  grade 
of  the  road  was  removed,  or  at  least  very  much  diminished. 
The  temple  was  probably  dedicated 4  in  388  B.C.  ;  and  in 
296  B.C.  a  pavement5  was  laid  from  the  porta  Capena  to  it. 
This  pavement  was  relaid6  in  189  B.C.,  and  the  road  provided 
with  a  porticus,  so  that  it  was  afterward  known  as  the  via  Tecta.7 
This  temple  is  frequently  mentioned,8  but  nothing  is  known  of 
its  history  after  the  fourth  century,  and  its  approximate  site 
is  determined  only  by  the  discovery  of  inscriptions.9  An  in- 

iLiv.  i.  21;  Juv.  3.  10-17;  Plut.  Numa,  13;  Gilbert,  I.  109-111;  II.  152- 
158;  Jordan,  I.  3.  206-208;  BC.  1905,  220-222. 

2  Serv.  ad  Aen.  i.  8 ;  PI.  NH.  xxxiv.  19. 

3  OIL.  vi.  1270.  4  Liv.  vi.  5.  «  Liv.  x.  23.  6  Liv.  xxxviii.  28. 

7  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  191-192.    (This  street  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  via 
Tecta  in  the  campus  Martius,  p.  377.) 

8  Cic.  ad  Q.  Fr.  Hi.  7;  Dionys.  vi.  13;  App.  Bell.  Civ.  iii.  41;  Gilbert,  II. 
96-99. 

9  GIL.  vi.  473-474;  Jordan,  I.  3.  213-215;  II.  110. 


THE    CAELIAN  — REGION  I.  433 

scription l  is  also  the  only  evidence  of  the  existence  of  a  shrine 
of  Aesculapius  and  Hygia  near  the  temple  of  Mars.  The  lapis 
manalis,2  a  miraculous  stone  which,  if  brought  into  the  city 
during  a  drought,  caused  rain,  was  also  near  this  temple. 
Probably  between  the  temple  of  Mars  and  the  porta  Capena 
was  the  temple  of  the  Tempestates,3  built  in  259  B.C.  by  L.  Cor- 
nelius Scipio,  and  a  temple  of  Minerva  which  was  in  existence 
in  the  fourth  century. 

The  temple  of  Honos  et  Virtus  was  situated  on  the  north  side 
of  the  via  Appia,  a  short  distance  south  of  the  porta  Capena. 
The  original  part  of  this  temple  was  built  in  234  B.C.  by 
Q.  Fabius  Maxiraus,  and  dedicated  to  Honos.4  In  208  B.C. 
M.  Claudius  Marcellus  attempted  to  rededicate  it  to  Honos  et 
Virtus  in  pursuance  of  a  vow  which  he  had  made  at  the  battle 
of  Clastidium.5  As  this  was  forbidden  by  the  pontifices,  he 
restored  the  temple  of  Honos,  and  built  a  new  part  for  Virtus. 
This  temple  was  afterward  restored6  by  Vespasian.  It  con- 
tained many  of  the  treasures  which  Marcellus  brought  from 
the  sack  of  Syracuse.7  Near  it  was  an  ara  Fortunae  Eeducis,8 
erected  by  the  senate  in  19  B.C.  in  honor  of  the  return  of 
Augustus  from  the  East. 

To  the  Almo  at  the  southern  boundary  of  this  region,  the 
sacred  stone  of  the  Magna  Mater  was  brought  once  a  year  for 
the  ceremony  of  lavatio,9  but  there  was  probably  no  temple  built 
here,  only  a  sacred  temenos. 


i  OIL.  vi.  10234. 

2Fest.  128;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  iii.  175;  Varro,  ap.  Non.  637;  Gilbert,  II.  154- 
155. 

»  CIL.  i.  32  =  vi.  1287 ;  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  193-194 ;  Not.  Reg.  i ;  Gilbert,  III.  100. 

*  Cic.  de  Nat.  Deor.  ii.  61 ;  Gilbert,  III.  97-98;  Bull.  d.  1st.  1873,  89-91. 
5  Liv.  xxvii.  25;  Val.  Max.  i.  1.  8;  Plut.  Marc.  28;  Symm.  Epist.  i.  20. 
«  PI.  NH.  xxxv.  120. 

*  Liv.  xxv.  40;  Cic.  Verr.  iv.  120-121 ;  Plut.  Marc.  21 ;  CIL.  i.  530,  note. 

8  Mon.  Anc.  ii.  29;  Dio  Cass.  liv.  10;  CIL.  i.2  p.  332;  Cohen,  August.  102- 
108. 

9  Ov.  Fast.  iv.  337-340;  Jordan,  I.  3.  215. 


434  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

Other  Buildings.  —  Mention  is  made  of  other  buildings  in  this 
region  of  which  little  or  nothing  is  known,  such  as  the  Muta- 
torium  Oaesaris,1  an  imperial  property  of  unknown  use,  repre- 
sented on  the  Marble  Plan2  and  situated  perhaps  near  the 
porta  Capena;  the  thermae  Oommodianae,3  erected  by  Oleander, 
a  favorite  of  Cornraodus,  and  the  thermae  Severianae,4  built  prob- 
ably by  Severus,  both  of  which  existed  in  the  fourth  century 
and  were  somewhere  south  of  the  baths  of  Caracalla ;  the  lacus 
Promethei,  probably  a  large  fountain;  and  six  balnea,  i.e.  Abas- 
cantis,  Mamertini,  Bolani,  Antiochiani,  Torquati,  Vespasiani.5  The  sen- 
ate met  regularly  ad  portam  Capenam  during  the  year  216  B.C., 
and  there  was  here  a  senaculum,6  as  well  as  on  the  Comitium 
and  near  the  temple  of  Bellona  (p.  344). 

Arches.  —  The  via  Appia  was  spanned  by  three  and  perhaps 
four  arches  within  the  limits  of  this  region. 

(1)  The  arcus  Drusi,7   erected  after  9  B.C.  in  honor  of  the 
elder  Drusus.     It  was  of  marble  and  adorned  with  trophies, 
and  probably  stood  a  short  distance  north  of  the  point  where 
the  via  Latina  branches  off  from  the  via  Appia,  but  no  trace 
of  it  has  been  found. 

(2)  The  arcus  divi  Traiani,8  erected  in  113  A.D.  by  the  senate 
to   commemorate  the  victories  of  Trajan   over    the   Dacians. 
This  arch   is   represented  on  coins,  and  was  standing  in  the 
fourth  century. 

(3)  The  arch  now  standing  just  inside  the  porta  S.  Sebas- 
tiano,  and  called  the  arco  di  Druso.     This   supported  the  aqua 
Antoniniana  (p.  95)  where  it  crossed  the  via  Appia.     It  is  of 

1  Not.  Reg.  i ;  Gilbert,  III.  350-351 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  205. 

2  Jordan,  FUR.  3. 

8  Herodian.  i.  12.  3;  Lamprid.  Vit.  Commodi,  17;  Not.  Reg.  i;  Chronogr. 
a.  354,  p.  148;  Gilbert,  III.  298;  BC.  1887,  323-324. 

*  Spart.  Vit.  Sev.  19;  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  148;  Jordan,  I.  3.  217-218. 
5  Not.  Reg.  i ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  219.  «  Liv.  xxiii.  32;  Fest.  347. 

"  Suet.  Claud.  1;  Jordan,  I.  1.  365;  Lanciani,  Acque,  55. 
8  Not.  Reg.  i ;  Gilbert,  III.  191 ;  Cohen,  Traian.  547. 


THE   CAELIAN  — REGION  I.  435 

travertine,  lined  with  marble,  7.21  metres  high  and  5.50  wide, 
and  has  a  single  passageway,  flanked  on  each  side  by  two  Cor- 
inthian columns  of  yellow  marble  with  white  marble  capitals, 
of  which  two  are  still  standing.  The  origin  of  this  arch  is 
unknown,  but  it  has  been  identified  with  each  of  those  already 
mentioned.1 

(4)  The  arcus  divi  Veri,2  erected  in  honor  of  the  emperor 
Lucius  Verus,  probably  over  the  via  Appia,  of  which  nothing 
further  is  known. 

According  to  Tacitus 3  the  same  honors  were  decreed  to 
the  younger  Drusus  after  his  death  in  23  A.D.,  that  had  been 
paid  to  Germanicus  in  19  A.D.,  and  a  strict  interpretation 
of  this  statement  would  include  the  erection  of  an  arch,  of 
which,  however,  there  is  no  other  record. 

Tombs  and  Columbaria.  —  Roman  law  forbade  burial  within 
the  city,  and  therefore  it  became  customary  from  very  early 
times  to  erect  tombs  and  monuments  outside  the  gates  along 
the  roads  leading  into  the  country.  As  the  city  grew,  many 
of  these  tombs  were  included  within  its  limits,  especially  in 
region  I,  where  the  distance  between  the  porta  Capena  and 
the  outer  boundary  of  the  region  was  so  great.  The  two 
roads,  Appia  and  Latina,  were  lined  with  the  sepulchres  of 
great  families.  Many  of  these  tombs  still  exist,  extending  for 
several  miles  outside  the  present  city  limits. 

Cicero4 speaks  of  four  such  families  as  having  their  tombs 
on  the  via  Appia,  —  the  Calatini,  Servilii,  Metelli,  and 
Scipiones.  Of  these  four,  one  at  least  was  within  the  later 
city  limits,  for  the  tomb  of  the  Scipios,  sepulchrum  or  hypogaeum 
Scipionum,  still  exists.  This  tomb5  was  discovered  in  1780, 
and  is  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the  via  Appia  and  a  road 


1  Cf.  Gilbert,  III.  189;  Jordan,  I.  3.  216.  »  Ann.  ii.  83;  iv.  9. 

2  Not.  Reg.  i.  *  Tusc.  i.  13. 

8  Jordan,  I.  3.  210-211 ;  Ripostelli-Maruccbi,  La  Via  Appia,  Rome,  1908, 
27-41. 


436  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

which  crossed  from  it  to  the  via  Latina,  the  entrance  being  on 
this  cross-road.  It  had  originally  two  stories,  but  only  the 
lower  now  remains.  It  consists  of  a  series  of  irregular 
chambers  excavated  in  the  tufa  rock  and  connected  by 
passages.  The  entrance  is  formed  by  an  arched  doorway  of 
peperino,  with  engaged  columns.  -  The  roof  is  now  supported 
by  modern  piers. 

As  the  Scipios  were  buried  and  not  burned,1  the  sepulchre 
was  filled  with  sarcophagi,  many  of  which  were  broken  and 
their  remains  scattered  when  the  tomb  was  opened.2  One, 
however,  that  of  L.  Cornelius  Scipio  Barbatus,  consul  .in 
298  B.C.  and  the  first  to  be  buried  here,  has  been  preserved 
and  is  now  in  the  Vatican,  together  with  portions  of  several 
others,  on  which  are  inscriptions.  The  sarcophagus  of  Barba- 
tus is  elaborately  decorated  with  a  Doric  entablature,  while 
the  lid  has  Ionic  volutes.  The  inscriptions 3  in  Saturnian 
metre  upon  this  and  the  other  sarcophagi  are  extremely  valu- 
able for  the  history  of  Latin  literature  and  phonology,  but 
they  are  probably  much  later  than  the  date  which  has  usually 
been  assigned  to  them,  the  earliest  being  no  earlier  than  the 
second  Punic  War.  Ennius  is  said  to  have  been  buried  in  this 
tomb,4  and  his  statue  to  have  stood  here  in  Cicero's  time, 
while  just  outside  the  porta  Capena  the  tomb  of  Horatia5  was 
still  visible  at  the  end  of  the  republic. 

The  space  between  the  via  Appia,  the  via  Latina,  and  the 
Aurelian  wall,  now  included  for  the  most  part  in  the  vigna 
Sassi  and  the  vigna  Codini,  was  occupied  in  process  of  time 
by  tombs  of  all  sorts,  and  upward  of  sixteen  hundred  sepul- 
chral inscriptions 6  have  been  found  here. 


i  Cic.  de  Legg.  ii.  57.  2  Cf.  OIL.  i.  pp.  11-12. 

a  OIL.  i.  29^39  =  vi.  1284-1294. 

4  Suet,  de  Poet. ;  PL  Nil.  vii.  114;  Liv.  xxxviii.  56;  Cic. pro  Arch.  22. 
6  Liv.  i.  26. 

6  In  vigna  Sassi  OIL.  vi.  5539-5678;   in  vigna  Codini  OIL.  vi.  4418-5538, 
5676-5886 ;  Ripostelli-Marucchi,  op.  cit.  68-87. 


THE    CAELIAN  — REGION   I. 


437 


With  the  increasing  frequency  of  cremation,  the  growth  of 
the  population  of  the  city,  and  the  difficulty  of  securing  space 
for  burial  purposes,  the  custom  arose,  about  the  beginning  of 
the  empire,  of  building  chambers,  mostly  subterranean,  the 
walls  of  which  contained  many  rows  of  niches,  arched  or 
square,  where  hundreds  of  cinerary  urns  could  be  set.  These 
rows  of  niches  gave  the  tomb-chambers  the  appearance  of 
dove-cotes,  and  hence  they  were  called  columbaria.  They  were 


FIG.  86.  —  COLUMBARIUM  IN  THB  VIQNA  CODINI. 

built  by  the  wealthy  for  their  slaves  and  freedmen,  by  mem- 
bers of  these  familiae  themselves  by  subscription,  by  guilds 
and  fraternities  of  various  kinds,  or  by  speculators  who  sold 
places  to  any  who  chose  to  buy. 

This  method  of  tomb-building  was  very  economical  and  be- 
came extremely  common.  Many  such  columbaria  have  been 
discovered  in  the  last  three  centuries  in  this  district,  but  only 
four  have  been  preserved,  that  of  Pomponius  Hylas  in  the 
vigna  Sassi  near  the  porta  Latina,  discovered  in  1831,  and 


438  TOPOGRAPHY  OF   ANCIENT  ROME. 

three  in  the  vigna  Codini,  between  the  sepulchrum  Scipionum 
and  the  porta  Appia,  discovered  between  1840  and  1853.1 

All  four  of  these  columbaria  date  from  the  first  century,  and 
while  they  differ  in  some  respects,  they  resemble  each  other  in 
the  main.  They  are  beneath  the  ground  level  and  approached 
by  steep  flights  of  steps.  That  discovered  in  1840  is  7.50 
metres  long,  5.65  wide,  and  6.24  high,  and  contains  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  niches.  The  sepulchral  inscriptions  in  these 
columbaria  were  written  on  tablets  affixed  to  the  wall  below 
the  niche ;  and  as  niches  often  passed  from  one  owner  to 
another,  there  are  sometimes  two  inscriptions  for  one  niche. 

There  were  sometimes  as  many  as  nine  rows  of  niches ;  and 
as  it  was  impossible  to  reach  the  upper  rows  from  the  floor, 
provision  was  made  for  a  temporary  wooden  scaffolding,  which 
usually  rested  on  stone  corbels  set  in  the  wall.  At  a  later 
period,  after  these  columbaria  had  been  filled  with  cinerary 
urns,  they  seem  to  have  been  opened  and  the  uncremated 
bodies  of  the  dead  were  thrown  into  them  in  a  most  promiscu- 
ous fashion.  Other  columbaria,  as  that  of  the  slaves  and  freed- 
men  of  Livia,2  the  wife  of  Augustus,  have  been  found  outside 
the  walls,  but  they  are  of  the  same  general  character  as  those 
just  described. 

* 

REGION   II. 

Temples  and  Shrines. —  On  that  part  of  the  Caelian  afterward 
included  in  region  II  there  were  three  sanctuaries  devoted  to 
very  ancient  cults.  These  were :  — 

(1)  The  sacellum  Minervae  Oaptae,3  also  called  Minervium,  on 
the  north  slope  of  Caeliolus,  which  derived  its  name  from  the 
statue  of  Minerva  brought  from  Falerii  when  that  town  was 

1  Bull.  d.  1st.  1840, 135-138;  1847,49-51;  1852,81-83;  Ann.  d.  I*M856,  8-24 ; 
cf.  Lanciani,  Ruins,  329-337;  Jordan,  I.  3.  211-213;  PBS.  v.  46^471. 

2  CIL.v\.  3926-4326. 

^Ov.  Fast.  Hi.  835-838;  Varro,  LL.  v.  47 ;  OIL.  vi.  524;  Gilbert,  II.  26-27 ; 
Ann.  d.  1st.  1849,  377;  Mon.  d.  1st.  v.  7;  Jordan,  I.  3.  226. 


THE   CAELIAN  — REGION   II.  439 

captured;  it  was  near  the  arcus  ad  Isis  (p.  319),  and  was  standing 
in  the  fourth  century ;  (2)  the  sacellum  Deae  Carnae,1  built  by 
Brutus  in  the  first  year  of  the  republic,  for  the  goddess  who, 
according  to  Macrobius,  was  believed  vitalibus  humanispraeesse; 
and  (3)  the  sacellum  Dianae,2  maximum,  et  sanctissimum,  situated 
on  the  Caeliolus  and  removed  by  L.  Calpurnius  Piso,  consul  in 
58  B.C.  No  traces  of  these  shrines  have  been  found,  nor  of  the 
shrines  (or  statues)  of  luppiter  Oaelius  and  the  Genius  Oaelimontis, 
which  are  represented  on  a  relief3  found  near  the  baths  of 
Diocletian. 

The  only  temple 4  in  this  region  of  which  anything  definite 
is  known  was  that  of  the  deified  Claudius,  which  was  begun 
by  Agrippina.  After  her  death  Nero  destroy ed,propefunditus, 
a  considerable  portion  of  what  had  been  erected,  and  built  in 
its  place  a  nymphaeum  for  the  branch  of  the  aqua  Claudia 
which  he  brought  over  the  hill.  Vespasian  rebuilt  the  temple, 
and  dedicated  it  as  the  templum  divi  Claudi.  It  stood  on  the 
north  spur  of  the  Caelian  opposite  the  Colosseum,  the  site  now 
occupied  by  the  gardens  of  the  Passionist  Fathers. 

The  temple  itself  stood  on  a  lofty  and  extensive  podium,  and 
was  surrounded  by  a  colonnade,  the  porticus  Claudia.5  Of  the 
temple  and  porticus  nothing  remains,  but  the  substructures  of 
the  podium  are  still  visible.  These  substructures  are  different  on 
the  different  sides  of  the  podium,  those  on  the  west  consisting 
of  double  rows  of  travertine  arches  with  engaged  columns  and 
entablature ;  those  on  the  north  containing  what  seem  to  be  res- 
ervoirs for  water ;  and  those  on  the  east  consisting  of  square 
and  semicircular  recesses,  which  are  separated  from  the  podium 

1  Macrob.  Sat.  i.  12,  31 ;  Tertull.  ad  Nat.  ii.  9 ;  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  101  ff . ;  Gilbert, 

II.  19-22. 

2  Cic.  de  Har.  Sesp.  32;  Jordan,  II.  257;  Gilbert,  II.  22-26. 
«  BC.  1887,  314. 

4  Suet.  Vesp.  9;  Front,  de  Aquis,  20,  76;  Viet.  Caes.  9;  OIL.  vi.  10251  a; 
Ann.  d.  1st.  1882,  205;  NS.  1880,  463;  1909, 407;  Lanciani,  Acque,  159;  Gilbert, 

III.  124;  Jordan,  I.  3.  232-234. 

6  Mart,  de  Sped.  ii.  9 ;  Jordan,  FUR.  33. 


440  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   HOME. 

by  a  narrow  passage.  This  difference  in  style  and  construction 
is  probably  due  to  the  combination  of  temple  and  nymphaeum 
which  was  the  result  of  Vespasian's  restoration.  The  building 
existed  in  the  fourth  century,  but  there  are  indications  that  its 
destruction  began  about  that  time. 

Other  Buildings.  —  On  the  Caelian  were  the  castra  Peregrina,1 
or  barracks  of  the  frumentarii,  originally  a  corps  of  foreign 
troops  employed  as  military  couriers,  and  in  the  second  and 
third  centuries  as  a  sort  of  special  police.  Within  this  camp 
was  a  shrine  of  luppiter  Kedux,2  erected  by  the  soldiers  of  Alex- 
ander Severns  and  Mammaea.  In  1905  some  fragmentary  in- 
scriptions, and  the  remains  of  a  building  that  may  have  been  the 
castra,  were  found  just  southeast  of  S.  Stefano  Rotondo,3  and 
this  is  now  regarded  as  its  site.  South  of  S.  Maria  in  Navi- 
cella,  in  the  grounds  of  the  villa  Mattei,  part  of  a  mosaic  pave- 
ment and  two  inscribed  pedestals  mark  the  site  of  the  barracks 
of  the  cohors  V  vigilum.4  At  the  north  corner  of  the  site  of  the 
castra  Peregrina  stands  the  arcus  Dolabellae  et  Silani,5  erected  in 
10  A.D.  by  the  consuls  P.  Cornelius  Dolabella  and  C.  Junius 
Silanus.  This  arch  is  of  travertine  without  ornamentation, 
and  is  ordinarily  supposed  to  have  been  built  to  support  a 
branch  of  the  aqua  Marcia  and  to  have  been  utilized  afterward 
by  Nero  in  his  extension  of  the  aqua  Claudia.  Corroborative 
evidence  for  this  theory  is  found  in  the  similar  construction 
and  inscription6  of  the  arcus  Lentuli  et  Crispini  (p.  410)  at  the 
foot  of  the  Aventine. 

According  to  the  Eegionary  Catalogue  the  Lupanarii  were 
near  the  barracks  of  the  vigiles  and  the  frumentarii.  As  the 

1  Amm.  Marcell.  xvi.  12.  66;    OIL.  vi.  230-231,  354;  Bull.  d.  1st.  1851, 113; 
1884,  21-29 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  234-236. 

2  GIL.  vi.  428. 

8  OR.  1905,  328-329;  BC.  1905,  108;  Hiilsen,^«i.  d.  Accad.  Pont.  viii.  410. 

4  OIL.  vi.  221,  222, 1057,  1058;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1858,  289-294;  Gilbert,  III.  196. 

5  OIL.  vi.  1384;  Lanciani,  Acque,  101;  Gilbert,  III.  189. 
«  OIL.  vi.  1385. 


THE   CAELIAN  — REGION   II.  441 

barracks  of  the  Misenates  (p.  450)  and  of  the  equites  singulares 
(p.  472)  were  not  far  away,  it  is  a  plausible  suggestion  that 
these  brothels  were  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  hill,  and  that 
they  were  called  Summoenia  or  Summoenianae,1  because  they  were 
built,  partially  at  least,  under  the  old  Servian  wall. 

In  59  A.D.  Nero  built  on  the  Caelian  a  public  market,  the 
macelhim  Magnum,2  which  is  shown  on  coins  to  have  consisted 
of  a  building  of  two  stories,  with  a  central  tholus,  or  domed 
structure,  surrounded  by  columns.  It  was  destroyed  at  some 
later  date,  and  rebuilt  about  the  end  of  the  fourth  century 
for  public  use,  perhaps  again  as  a  market.  A  century  later 
it  was  transformed  into  the  church  of  S.  Stefano  Rotondo. 
Further  changes  were  made  in  succeeding  centuries,  and  of  the 
original  macellum  of  Nero  the  only  remaining  portions  are  the 
travertine  foundations,  part  of  the  inclosure  wall,  and  eight 
pilasters  of  the  outer  colonnade.  The  fourth-century  structure 
was  built  on  the  original  foundations,  and  appears  to  have 
preserved  in  general  the  form  of  Nero's  building.  It  consisted 
of  a  two-storied  circular  colonnade,  of  twenty-two  columns, 
which  supported  a  domed  roof.  This  was  surrounded  by  an 
outer  concentric  colonnade  of  thirty -six  columns,  also  two  stories 
high.  Outside  of  this  was  an  ambulatory,  10  metres  wide, 
divided  into  eight  segments  by  rows  of  columns.  The  alter- 
nate segments  were  inclosed  by  an  outer  wall. 

The  Antrum  Oyclopis  of  the  Regionary  Catalogue  would 
appear  to  have  been  a  grotto  in  the  side  of  the  hill,  which  was 
probably  built  up  in  some  way.  It  gave  its  name  to  a  vicus. 

Private  Houses.  —  Under  the  empire,  the  Caelian  became  a 
favorite  residential  quarter  for  the  rich,3  and  the  excavations  * 


iMart.  i.  34;  iii.  82;  xi.  61. 

2  Dio  Cass.  Ixi.  18 ;  OIL.  vi.  1648, 9183 ;  Cohen,  Nero,  126-130 ;  Man.  d.  Lined, 
i.  503-507;  Mitt.  1892, 297-299 ;  Gilbert,  III. 238 ;  Jordan ,1.3. 237-238;  Altmaun, 
Rundbauten,  75-76. 

»  Cf .  Gilbert,  III.  348-349 ;  Mart.  xii.  18.  4.  *  NS.  1885,  66. 


442  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT  ROME. 

of  recent  years,  particularly  those  carried  on  within  the  area 
now  occupied  by  the  villa  Casali  and  the  Ospedale  Militare, 
have  brought  to  light  many  remains  and  inscriptions  belonging 
to  their  houses.1  They  occupied  the  central  part  of  the  hill,  on 
both  sides  of  the  rivus  Herculaneus  from  the  castra  Peregrina 
east. 

Among  them  were  the  houses  of  Q.  Aurelius  Symmachus,2  the 
famous  statesman  and  orator  of  the  fourth  century,  and  of 
0.  Stertinius  Xenophon,3  the  physician  of  Claudius.  Near  by  were 
the  residences  of  the  Pisones 4  and  Valerii,5  as  well  as  many 
others.  Here,  too,  was  some  sort  of  a  pleasure  resort  of 
Domitian's,  the  Mica  Aurea,6  and  the  basilica  Hilariana,7  of  which 
nothing  more  is  known.  The  house  of  Mamurra8  was  cele- 
brated as  the  first  in  which  the  walls  were  lined  with  marble. 

The  most  famous  of  all  these  houses  is  that  which  belonged 
to  the  Laterani,  called  by  Juvenal 9  egregiae  Lateranorum  aedes. 
In  65  A.D.  Plautius  Lateranus  was  executed  by  Nero  for  hav- 
ing joined  in  the  conspiracy  of  Piso,  and  all  his  property  is 
supposed  to  have  been  confiscated,  including  the  house,  which 
then  remained  in  the  possession  of  the  emperors  until  Severus 
restored  it  to  T.  Sextius  Lateranus.10  It  must  have  fallen 
again  into  imperial  hands,  for  Constantine  presented  it  to  Pope 
Miltiades  in  313  A.D.,  after  which  time  it  continued  to  be  the 
official  residence  of  the  popes  until  it  was  destroyed  by  the 
gradual  enlargement  of  the  great  church  of  St.  John  Lateran. 

1  For  a  list  of  these  houses,  see  Richter,  Top.2  338-339. 

2  Symm.  Epist.  iii.  12,  88;  vii.  18,  19;  OIL.  vi.  1699. 

8  PL  NH.  xxix.  7-8;  GIL.  vi.  8905;  xv.  7544;  BC.  1886,  104. 

*  Cic.  in  Pis.  61 ;  GIL,  xv.  7513. 

6  GIL.  vi.  1684-1694 ;  BC.  1890, 288-292 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  240.  For  the  interest- 
ing excavations  recently  made  on  the  site  of  this  house,  see  NS.  1902,  283-284 ; 
BC.  1902,  74-78,  145-163;  CR.  1905,  328. 

6  Chronogr.  a.  354.  p.  146 ;  Not.  Reg.  ii  (Mart.  ii.  59  ?    Cf .  Jordan,  I.  3.  252) . 

7  BC.  1890,  18-25,  78;  Mitt.  1891,  109-110. 

8  PL  NH.  xxxvi.  48.  »  x.  17. 

1°  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  49,  60;  Viet.  Epit.  20;  Jul.  Cap.  Vit.  M.  Ant.  1;  Gilbert, 
III.  349;  Jordan,  I.  3.  243-245. 


THE   CAELIAN  — REGION   II.  443 

Some  of  its  ruins1  have  been  discovered  beneath  the  choir 
of  the  church,  at  depths  varying  from  7.50  to  13  metres,  and 
consist  principally  of  a  series  of  apartments  connected  by  a 
porticus  and  adorned  with  rows  of  columns,  statues,  and  other 
works  of  art.  Lead  pipes  of  the  second  century,  inscribed 
with  names  of  members  of  the  Laterani  family,  are  thought 
by  some  to  prove  that  the  house  itself  did  not  pass  out  of  the 
possession  of  its  original  owners  until  the  following  century. 
The  obelisk  in  the  piazza  was  brought  from  the  Circus  Maximus 
(p.  408),  and  the  statue  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  now  on  the 
Capitol,  stood  here  until  the  year  1538.  Marcus  Aurelius 2 
himself  was  born  in  the  house  of  the  Annii  which  was  near 
that  of  the  Laterani. 

A  very  interesting  house,  of  a  rather  late  period,  is  that  of 
St.  John  and  St.  Paul  (domus  sett.  lohannis  et  Pauli),  recently 
discovered  beneath  the  church  of  SS.  Giovanni  e  Paolo.3  This 
house,  in  which  these  two  saints  are  reported  to  have  been 
martyred,  is  a  private  dwelling  ef  the  second  century,  which 
was  enlarged  and  rebuilt  in  the  third  and  fourth,  and  over 
which  the  basilica  was  erected  in  the  fifth.  The  enlarge- 
ment consisted  for  the  most  part  in  connecting  two  houses, 
which  had  been  separated  by  a  narrow  street.  In  the  exca- 
vated portion  upward  of  thirty  rooms  have  been  opened  up, 
among  them  a  cavaedium  with  five  rows  of  three  rooms  each 
on  its  south  side,  bath-rooms,  storerooms,  and  stairways.  The 
house  had  three  stories,  traces  of  which  may  be  seen  on  the 
left  of  the  clivus  Scauri  (via  di  SS.  Giovanni  e  Paolo).  There 
is  an  arcade  below,  and  rows  of  windows  in  the  two  upper 
stories.  The  atrium  and  adjacent  apartments  probably  occupy 
most  of  that  portion  of  the  house  whieh  has  not  yet  been 
excavated. 

l  Ann.  d.  1st.  1877,  332-384.    *  jui.  Capit.  Vit.  M.  Ant.  1 ;  CP.  1909,  195. 

»  NS.  1887,  532;  1890,  79-80,  150;  1891,  161-162;  1892,  264;  BC.  1887,  321- 
322;  1892,  65;  1909,  122-123;  Mitt.  1889,  261-262;  1891,  107-108;  1892,  297; 
A JA.  1890,  261-285,  pi.  xvi,  xvii ;  1891,  25-37,  pi.  iv-vi. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
THE   ESQUILINE.     REGIONS    III,   IV,   V. 

The  Esquiline  district 1  included  the  two  spurs  of  the  Esquiline 
hill,  the  Oppius  and  the  Cispius ;  the  Carinae 2  or  western,  and 
the  Fagutal  or  northwestern,  slope  of  the  Oppius ;  the  Subura, 
the  valley  between  the  Oppius  and  the  Cispius;  and  the  campus 
Esquilinus3  or  wide  plateau  east  of  the  Servian  wall  which 
was  afterward  region  V.  Esquiliae  or  mons  Esquilinus  usually 
denoted  the  whole  hill  with  its  two  spurs  and  the  plateau  be- 
hind (p.  40). 

In  the  organization  of  Augustus  this  district  was  divided 
into  three  regions.  Region  III  included  the  Colosseum  val- 
ley and  was  bounded  by  the  street  which  connected  this  valley 
with  the  porta  Caelemontana  (the  modern  via  dei  SS.  Quattro), 
by  the  Servian  wall,  the  clivus  Suburanus  and  the  Subura,  and 
probably  by  the  vicus  Cuprius.  Region  IV  lay  north  of  III, 
and  was  bounded  on  the  other  sides  by  the  Sacra  via,  the 
Forum,  the  forum  of  Nerva,  and  the  vicus  Patricius.  Between 
the  forum  of  Nerva  and  the  vicus  Patricius,  the  boundary 
seems  to  have  described  a  wide  curve.  Region  V  lay  east  of 
the  Servian  wall,  from  the  street  between  the  porta  Caele- 
montana and  the  porta  Asinaria  on  the  south  to  the  castra 
Praetoria  on  the  north.  A  large  part  of  this  region  was  known 
during  the  republic  as  the  pagus  Montanus,4  a  reminiscence  of 
its  earlier  organization  as  a  canton ;  and  its  northern  section,  be- 
tween the  Servian  and  Aurelian  walls  and  adjacent  to  the  castra 

1  Jordan,  I.  3.  254  ff. 

2  Varro,  LL.  v.  47;  Gilbert,  II.  62;  Jordan,  I.  3.  262-265. 

3  Cic.  Phil.  ix.  17 ;  Strabo,  v.  3.9  (237) ;  S.uet.  Claud.  25. 
*•  OIL.  vi.  3823;  Jordan,  I.  1.  184;  Gilbert,  I.  169. 

444 


THE   ESQUILINE.  445 

Praetoria,  was  called  the  campus  Viminalis  sub  aggere.1  Xear 
the  porta  Esquilina  was  the  open  area  of  the  forum  Esquilinum,2 
probably  inside  rather  than  outside  the  wall. 

Ancient  Necropolis.  —  In  very  early  times  a  vast  necropolis 3 
spread  over  the  Esquiline,  from  the  modern  villa  Spithoever 
and  the  Treasury  building  to  the  piazza  Vittorio  Emanuele. 
Within  this  area  tombs  have  been  discovered  of  two  successive 
types.  The  earliest  and  most  numerous  are  putei,  or  graves 
cut  in  the  tufa  rock,  from  2  to  4  metres  in  length,  in  which  the 
bones  of  the  dead  were  laid,  together  with  various  articles  of 
furniture  and  personal  equipment.  Those  of  the  second  type 
contain  stone  receptacles,  monolithic  except  for  the  lids,  or 
else  made  of  several  slabs,  like  small  boxes.  These  tombs 
have  been  found  in  other  places,  but  especially  in  the  via 
Napoleone  III  and  the  piazza  Vittorio  Emanuele.  It  seems 
clear,  therefore,  that  during  the  first  period  of  the  iron  age  the 
inhabitants  of  this  district  dug  both  trench-tombs  for  burial 
and  well-tombs  for  ashes.  The  Servian  wall  was  built  directly 
across  the  necropolis  and  over  the  tombs  themselves. 

During  the  later  republic  this  district,  outside  the  Servian 
wall  and  extending  as  far  as  the  amphitheatrum  Castrense, 
was  used  as  a  cemetery,  and  divided  into  two  zones.  The  first, 
where  the  poor,  slaves,  and  malefactors  were  buried,  and  which 
was  in  a  sense  a  Potter's  Field,  is  said  to  have  occupied  a 
space  1000  feet  long  and  300  wide,4  just  outside  the  agger  of 
Servius  near  the  porta  Esquilina.  This  was  also  the  place 
of  public  executions5  during  the  republic.  Under  the  empire, 
executions  may  have  taken  place  near  the  Sessorium  (p.  469), 

1  Not.  Reg.  v;  Jordan,  I.  3.  342;  II.  129. 

2App.  Bell.  Civ.  i.  58;  OIL.  vi.  2223,  9179-9180;  Jordan,  I.  3.  317-318; 
Richter,  Top.2  332. 

8  BC.  1874,  46-53;  1885,  39-50;  1896,  5-60;  1898,  137-140;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1879, 
253-299 ;  1880,  265-342 ;  1882,  5-58 ;  Bull.  d.  1st.  1885,  72-77 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  261, 
265-270;  Pinza,  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  xv.  43-247. 

4  Ilor.  Sat.  i.  8.  8-13.  6  Tac.  Ann.  ii.  32;  Suet.  Claud.  25. 


446  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

just  north,  of  S.  Croce  in  Gerusalemme.  In  this  part  of  the 
cemetery  the  tombs  were  rectangular  pits,  from  4  to  5  metres 
in  length  and  unconnected  with  each  other,  arranged  in  rows 
which  ran  north  and  south.  They  were  called  puticuli,1  and 
were  made  of  blocks  of  lapis  Gabinus.  Into  them  the  bodies 
were  thrown  promiscuously.  In  the  via  Napoleone  III,  besides 
the  ancient  tombs,  a  large  number  of  these  of  later  date  was 
found,  filled  with  matter  containing  bones,  ashes,  and  organic 
debris.  The  average  depth  of  soil  above  these  tombs  was  from 
6  to  8  metres.  Traces  have  also  been  found  of  a  stone  channel, 
which  is  thought  by  some  to  have  surrounded  this  part  of  the 
cemetery  and  to  have  formed  a  definite  boundary.  Adjacent 
to  this  cemetery  was  the  Incus  Libitinae,2  or  grove  of  Venus 
Libitina,  where  that  goddess  was  worshipped. 

Beyond  this  zone  lay  the  second,  in  which  a  better  class  of 
Romans  —  mechanics,  tradesmen,  and  f reedmen  —  were  buried, 
and  occasionally  men  of  rank,  as  C.  Pansa,  Sev.  Sulpicius, 
Horace,  and  Maecenas.3 

The  natural  result  of  all  this  was  the  creation  of  an  intoler- 
able nuisance.  This  part  of  the  Esquiline  came  to  be  known 
as  the  atrae  Esquiliae*  and  was  a  menace  to  the  health  of  the 
whole  city  until  it  was  reclaimed  by  Maecenas. 

Streets.  —  A  good  deal  is  known  about  the  ancient  system 
of  streets  in  this  district  from  other  evidence,  and  especially 
from  the  discovery  of  much  of  the  ancient  pavements.  The 
main  artery  of  communication  between  the  Esquiline  and  the 
rest  of  the  city  was  the  Argiletum 5  (p.  173),  which  ran  northeast 
from  the  Forum  through  the  later  forum  Transitorium,  and 


1  Varro,  LL.  v.  25;   Fest.  Epit.  216;  Comm.  Cruq.  ad  Hor.  Sat.  i.  8.  10; 
Gilbert,  III.  310-311. 

2  Dionys.  iv.  15;  Plut.  Quaest.  Rom.  23;   Asc.  in  Mil.  p.  34;  OIL.  vi.  9974, 
10022;  BG.  1905,  207-208. 

»  Cic.  Phil.  ix.  17;  Suet.  Vit.  Hor.;  Jordan,  I.  3.  270-271. 

4  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  6.  32.  «  BC.  1880,  98-102. 


THE   ESQUILINE.  447 

its  continuation  the  Subura.  The  beginning  of  the  Subura, 
between  the  spurs  of  the  Oppius,  the  Cispius,  and  the  Viminal, 
was  called  the  Primae  Fauces,1  and  its  upper  part,  where  it 
ascended  the  hill  to  the  porta  Esquilina,  was  called  the  clivus 
Suburanus.2  rJChe  ancient  pavement  of  this  thoroughfare  has 
been  found  along  the  line  of  the  via  di  S.  Lucia  in  Selci,  the 
via  di  S.  Martiuo,  and  the  via  di  S.  Vito.  Outside  the  porta 
Esquilina  this  road  divided  into  the  via  Tiburtina  and  the 
via  Praenestina.  At  the  west  end  of  the  Cispius  the  vicus 
Patricias,3  a  name  of  doubtful  origin,  branched  off  from  the 
Subura  to  the  north,  and  extending  to  the  porta  Viminalis 
formed  the  boundary  between  regions  IV  and  VI.  The  pave- 
ment of  this  street  lies  very  near  the  via  Urbana.  A  second 
street  led  from  the  northwest  corner  of  the  basilica  of  Con- 
stantine  straight  up  the  Carinae  to  the  summit  of  the  Oppius, 
and  its  pavement  is  beneath  that  of  the  via  di  S.  Pietro  in 
Vincoli.  The  ancient  name  of  this  street  is  uncertain,  but 
it  may  have  been  the  clivus  Orbius4  (Urbius),  which  was  also 
called  the  vicus  Sceleratus,5  from  the  legend  that  here  Tullia 
drove  over  the  body  of  her  murdered  father. 

Another  street,  the  vicus  Ouprius,6  started  near  the  Colosseum 
and  ran  north  across  the  slope  of  the  Carinae  to  the  Subura. 
This  vicus,  at  its  highest  point,  is  said  to  have  crossed  the 
clivus  Orbius ;  and  in  fact  the  pavement  of  an  ancient  street, 
which  corresponds  with  what  is  known  of  the  vicus  Cuprius, 
does  cross  the  clivus  Orbius  below  the  height  of  S.  Pietro  in 
Vincoli  and  coincides  quite  closely  with  the  via  del  Cardello. 

From  the  Colosseum  valley  two  streets  led  east.     The  more 


1  Mart.  ii.  17.  1.  2  Mart.  v.  22.  5. 

«  Fest.  221,  351 ;  Mart.  vii.  73.  2;  x.  68.  2;  Jordan,  FUR.  9;  OIL.  vi.  1775; 
Bull.  Crist.  1867,  57;  Gilbert,  11.358;  III.  357;  Jordan,  I.  3.  339. 

*  Fest.  182;  Solin.  i.  25;  Liv.  i.  48;  Dionys.  iv.  39;  Jordan,  I.  3.  258;  Pais, 
Legends,  273-274. 

fi  Varro.  LL.  v.  159;  Fest.  333;  Gilbert,  I.  186-191. 

8  Varro,  LL.  v.  159;  Liv.  i.  48;  Dionys.  iii.  22;  Gilbert,  1. 187-189. 


448  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

northerly  coincides  closely  with  the  modern  via  Labicana,  and 
can  be  traced  across  the  Esquiline  to  the  porta  Maggiore. 
The  other  street  is  that  which  formed  the  boundary  between 
regions  II  and  III  (probably  the  via  Maior 1  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury), coinciding  closely  with  the  via  dei  SS.  Quattro  and  via 
S.  Giovanni  in  Laterano.  This  led  to  the  porta  Caelemontana 
and  on  to  the  porta  Asinaria. 

As  the  wall  and  agger  of  Servius  gradually  fell  into  decay 
and  the  moat  was  filled  up,  houses  began  to  be  erected  on  this 
new  ground  and  streets  to  be  laid  out  on  both  sides  of  the 
wall  parallel  to  it.  The  pavement  of  one  of  these  streets  has 
been  discovered  for  the  entire  distance  between  the  porta 
Caelemontana  and  the  northwest  corner  of  the  piazza  Vittorio 
Enianuele,  just  outside  the  porta  Esquilina,  at  an  average 
depth  of  5  to  6  metres  below  the  modern  level.  The  ancient 
name  of  this  street  is  not  known,  but  after  the  seventh  cen- 
tury it  was  called  the  via  Merulana,2  a  name  which  has  now 
been  transferred  to  the  new  avenue  which  leads  from  S.  Maria 
Maggiore  to  the  Lateran.  This  ancient  street  was  probably 
the  principal  thoroughfare  between  the  north  and  south  parts 
of  the  Esquiline. 

Besides  these  streets,  the  line  of  which  is  partially  deter- 
mined, there  was  a  ch'vus  Pullius,3  leading  from  the  Subura 
south  to  the  Oppius ;  a  vicus  Sandaliarius,4  which  probably  opened 
into  the  Argiletum  and  corresponds  to  the  via  del  Colosseo ; 
and  a  street5 of  unknown  name,  which  branched  off  toward  the 
east  from  the  vicus  Cuprius.  The  vicus  lovis  Fagutalis6  must 

1  Jordan,  I.  3.  242 ;  11.352-353;   Hiilsen,  La  Pianta  di  Roma  dell'Anonimo 
Einsidlense,  406.    Via  Maior,  or  via  Papalis,  appears  to  have  been  applied  to 
a  continuous  line  of  streets  from  the  pons  Aelius  to  the  porta  Asinaria. 

2  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  552-553;  Jordan,  I.  3.  351. 

3  Varro,  LL.  v.  158;  Solin.  i.  26;  BC.  1891,  342;  Jordan,  I.  3.  257;  II.  254; 
Gilbert,  I.  164;  III.  352;  Bull.  Crist.  1863,  23. 

*  Suet.  Aug.  57;  Gell.  xviii.  4;  OIL.  vi.  448;  BC.  1877,  102-163;  1890, 113- 
132;  Rh M.  1894,630;  Jordan,  I.  3.  329. 

6  Richter,  Top?  311;  N§.  1884,  396.  «  GIL.  vi.  452. 


THE   ESQUILINE  —  REGION   III.  449 

have  been  on  the  Fagutal ;  and  the  vicus  Summi  Ohoragi l  evi- 
dently derived  its  name  from  that  building  (p.  334).  The 
Oorneta 2  was  between  the  Sacra  via  and  the  Macellum.  The 
vicus  Sabuci 3  was  somewhere  in  region  III ;  and  the  clivus  Bassilli4 
probably  branched  off  to  the  north  from  the  via  Tiburtina.  Of 
the  vicus  Africus 5  nothing  is  known  except  that  it  was  on  the 
Esquiline. 

REGION  III.8 

Temples  and  Shrines.  —  The  temple  which  gave  its  name  to 
this  region  was  that  of  Isis,7  which  was  also  dedicated  to  Sera- 
pis,  like  that  in  the  campus  Martius  ;  but  nothing  is  known  of 
the  date  of  its  building  or  of  its  history.  On  the  relief  of  the 
Haterii  (Fig.  2)  an  arch,  spanning  the  street  that  nearly  coin- 
cides with  the  via  Labicana,  is  marked  arcus  ad  Isis,  and  on 
the  line  of  this  street,  near  the  church  of  SS.  Pietro  e  Marcel- 
lino,  the  remains  of  a  temple,  decorated  in  Egyptian  style,  were 
discovered  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Other  Egyptian  re- 
mains have  been  found  in  this  region  as  far  north  as  the  via 
Buonarotti,  so  that  the  exact  site  of  the  temple  is  a  matter  of 
dispute.  It  was  probably  near  SS.  Pietro  e  Marcellino. 

At  the  crossing  of  the  vicus  Cuprius  and  the  clivus  Orbius 
stood  the  Dianium,  a  shrine  of  Diana,  which  is  mentioned  only 
once8  and  had  disappeared  in  Livy's  time.  Plutarch9  speaks 
of  a  temple  of  Diana  in  the  vicus  Patricius,  but  nothing  more 
is  known  of  it,  nor  of  the  temple  of  Bellona  Bufilia,10  which  stood 
ab  Isis  Serapis. 

1  Jordan,  FUR.  1. 

2  Varro,  LL.  v.  152 ;  Gilbert,  III.  209;  Jordan,  I.  3.  1.  «  OIL.  vi.  801. 
«  BC.  1890,  335 ;  Mitt.  1891,  112.                                    6  Varro,  LL.  v.  159. 

6  The  Colosseum  and  attached  buildings,  although  falling  within  this 
region,  have  been  already  described,  pp.  324-335. 

T  Not.  Reg.  iii;  Treb.  Poll.  Vit.  Trig.  Tyr.  25;  US.  1888,  626;  BC.  1887, 
132-134;  1889,  37-39;  Mitt.  1889,  279-280;  Lanciani,  Ruins,  360;  Jordan,  I. 
3.304. 

»  Liv.  i.  48.  9  Quaest.  Rom.  3.  ">  OIL.  vi.  2234. 


450  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

Near  the  Tigillum  Sororium  were  two  altars,  dedicated  to 
luno  Sororia  and  lanus  Ouriatius,1  on  which  from  early  times 
expiatory  sacrifices  had  been  made.  These  altars  were  un- 
doubtedly connected  with  the  expiation  of  Horatius. 

Other  Public  Buildings.  —  Tradition  said  that  the  surviving 
Horatius  was  compelled  to  pass  beneath  a  wooden  cross-bar 
supported  by  two  vertical  posts,  in  expiation  of  the  murder  of 
his  sister.2  This  yoke  was  called  the  Tigillum  Sororium,  and 
was  probably  in  reality  an  ancient  Janus-gate,  with  which  the 
Horatius  legend  became  connected.  It  appears  to  have  stood 
at  a  place  where  two  roads  crossed,  ad  compitum  Acili,3  per- 
haps on  the  vicus  Cuprius  (p.  447),  —  at  any  rate  somewhere 
on  tho  southwest  slope  of  the  Oppius. 

Directly  east  of  S.  Clemente,  the  site  of  the  imperial  mint  is 
marked  by  the  discovery  of  inscriptions  relating  to  the  Moneta, 
or  Moneta  Oaesaris,  and  to  its  officials,  the  monetarii*  The  mint 
had  apparently  been  transferred  hither  from  the  temple  of 
luno  Moneta  on  the  Capitoline.  Between  the  thermae  Tra- 
ianae  and  S.  Clemente  were  the  castra  Misenatium,5  the  barracks 
occupied  by  the  sailors  detailed  for  service  in  the  city  from 
the  imperial  fleet  stationed  at  Misenum.  The  site  is  known 
only  from  inscriptions  and  a  fragment  of  the  Marble  Plan. 
Between  these  barracks  and  S.  Clemente  was  the  Summum  Oho- 
ragium  (see  p.  334),  #nd  still  farther  east  on  the  same  street 
was  the  Indus  Magnus,6  or  principal  training  school  for  gladi- 


1  Fest.  297 ;  Epit.  307 ;  Dionys.  iii.  22 ;  Schol.  Bob.  ad  Cic.  pro  Mil.  3. 

2  Dionys.  iii.  22;  Fest.  297;  Epit.  307;   Liv.  i.  26;  Auct.  de  Vir.  III.  9;  Gil- 
bert, I.  178-179;  II.  55-58;  SO.  1890,  128-129;  Melanges,  1908,  244. 

8  PI.  NH.  xxix.  12;  Hemerol.  Arv.  Kal.  Oct.;  Jordan,  I.  3.  322;  II.  100; 
Gilbert,  I.  182,  191. 

4  Not.  Reg.  iii ;  BC.  1891,  343 ;  OIL.  vi.  4^44,  791,  1647 ;  Gilbert,  III.  185. 

5  Jordan,  FUR.  5;    OIL.  vi.  1091;  Jordan,  I.  3.  301;   II.  116;   Gilbert,  III. 
200;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1862,  64;  BC.  1891, 193. 

6  Not.  Reg.  iii ;  Herodian.  i.  16 ;  Jordan,  FUR.  4 ;  OIL.  vi.  1645, 1647,  7659, 
10161-10170;  Gilbert,  III.  332. 


THE   ESQUILINE  — REGION  III.  451 

ators,  and  probably  the  Indus  Dacicus,1  a  similar  school  for 
Dacians.  In  the  vineyard  of  the  monks  of  S.  Pietro  in  Vincoli 
inscriptions 2  have  been  found  relating  to  a  IVO-TI/O;  owoSos  TW 
7T«/>i  TOV  HpaicXfa  aOXryrdv  or  curia  athletarum,  evidently  the  head- 
quarters of  some  organization  of  athletes.  This  hall  was  un- 
doubtedly in  the  neighborhood  of  the  thermae  Traianae ;  but 
whether  it  can  be  identified  with  the  basilica-shaped  hall  just 
north  of  these  thermae,  as  some  believe,  is  entirely  uncertain. 
The  portions  Liviae,3  fronting  directly  on  the  clivus  Suburanus, 
was  built  by  Augustus  on  the  site  previously  occupied  by  the 
house  of  Vedius  Pollio.  This  house,4  which  had  become  fa- 
mous for  its  luxury  and  magnificence,  was  left  by  will  to  Au- 
gustus by  Pollio,  who  died  in  15  B.C.  ;  but  the  emperor  tore  it 
down  at  once,  in  order  to  show  his  disapproval  of  such  private 
residences,  and  erected  the  porticus  in  its  place.  This  was 
not  finished  and  dedicated  to  Livia  until  7  B.C.*  It  was  the 
most  important  porticus  in  the  city,  after  those  of  the  campus 
Martius,  and  much  frequented.6  Its  site  and  general  plan  are 
known  to  us  from  three  fragments  of  the  Marble  Plan/  and 
from  drawings  made  in  the  sixteenth  century  of  the  ruins 
which  were  then  visible.  It  was  rectangular  in  shape,  about 
115  metres  long  and  75  wide,  and  consisted  of  an  outer  wall 
and  a  double  row  of  columns  within.  In  each  of  the  long 
sides  were  three  niches,  the  central  one  square,  the  others 
semicircular.  There  was  also  a  semicircular  apse  on  the  south 
side.  The  entrance  was  on  the  north,  where  there  was  a  flight 
of  steps  20  metres  wide  leading  down  to  the  clivus  Suburanus. 
In  the  centre  of  the  area  was  something  which  appears  to  have 

1  Not.  Reg.  iii. 

2  EG.  1891, 185-209;  CIL.vi.  10153-10154;  Inscriptiones  Graecae  Siciliae  et 
Italiae,  1102-1110. 

«  BC.  1886,  270-274;  Mitt.  1889,  78-79. 

4  Dio  Cass.  liv.  23 ;  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  639-644. 

6  Dio  Cass.  Iv.  8;  Suet.  Aug.  29. 

«  Ov.  Ars  Am.  i.  71 ;  Strabo,  v.  3.  8;  PI.  NH.  xiv.  11 ;  Gilbert,  III.  253. 

*  Jordan,  FUR.  10,  11,  109. 


452  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

been  a  fountain.  Ap  aedes  Ooncordiae1  built  by  Livia  was  con- 
nected with  the  porticus,  but  it  was  probably  outside  the  in- 
closure  rather  than  within  it. 

The  office  of  praefectus  urbi  became  permanent  during  the 
reign  of  Tiberius,  and  thenceforth  one  of  the  most  important 
in  the  empire.  The  general  offices,  Praefectura  Urbana,2  of  this 
prefecture  were  west  of  the  thermae  Traianae,  within  the  area 
now  bounded  by  the  vie  di  S.  Pietro  in  Vincoli,  della  Pol- 
veriera,  and  del  Serpenti.  The  identification  of  this  site 
is  rendered  possible  by  inscriptions,  although  no  trace  of  the 
building  itself  remains.  It  dated  from  the  early  empire,  and 
contained  at  least  three  parts  —  the  scrinia  or  archives,  the 
secretarium  or  prefect's  office,  and  the  tribunalia  where  he  gave 
his  decisions.  The  secretarium  was  called  secretarium  Tellu- 
rense,  which  indicates  that  the  building  stood  in  Tellure,  or  in 
the  vicus  Tellurensis,  near  the  temple  of  Tellus.  The  inscrip- 
tions also  indicate  that  adjacent  to  the  Praefectura  was  a 
porticus,3  in  which  copies  of  the  edicts,  preserved  in  the 
archives,  were  set  up  for  public  inspection  ;  and  this  porticus 
may  be  identical  with  the  porticus  thermarum  Traianarum  men- 
tioned in  another  inscription.4 

The  domus  Aurea5  of  Nero,  as  has  already  been  said  (p.  72), 
spread  over  a  large  part  of  the  Esquiline.  It  was  evidently  a 
large  park,8  containing  various  buildings  of  the  greatest  mag- 
nificence and  many  treasures.  The  most  extensive  existing 
remains  are  beneath  and  just  east  of  the  thermae  Traianae. 
That  part  which  is  beneath  the  thermae  is  built  of  opus  lateri- 
cium  covered  with  stucco,  and  consists  of  a  series  of  parallel 

1  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  637;  Jordan,  I.  3.  315. 

2  BC.  1892,  19-37;  Mitt.  1893,  298-302;  RhM.  1894,  629-630. 
«  BC.  1891,  342-358. 

*  Athen.  Mitt.  1891,  267-279;  GIL.  Hi.  12336. 

6  Mtlanf/es,  1891, 161-167 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  273-279 ;  A.  Profumo,  Le  Fonti  ed  I 
Tempi  dello  Incendio  Neroniano,  Rome,  1905,  423-431. 

«  Suet.  Nero,  31;  Otho,l\  Dio  Cass.  Ixv.  4;  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  39,  42;  PI.  NH. 
xxxiii.  54;  xxxiv.  84;  xxxv.  120;  xxxvi.  37;  Gilbert,  III.  179-180. 


THE   ESQUILINE  —  REGION  III.  453 

chambers  opening  north  and  south  into  courts  surrounded  with 
colonnades.  In  the  centre  of  the  north  peristyle  is  a  fountain, 
and  along  its  north  side  a  cryptoporticus.  The  wall-paintings 
that  were  found  in  these  chambers l  in  the  fifteenth  century 
afterward  inspired  Raphael  to  paint  his  famous  frescoes  in 
the  loggia  of  the  Vatican  and  in  the  villa  Madama.  A  few 
traces  of  them  still  remain,  and  also  of  others  discovered  in 
1813  in  the  cryptoporticus. 

The  ruins  of  the  domus  Aurea  just  east  of  the  thermae, 
generally  known  as  Le  Capocce  or  Le  Sette  Sale,  belong  to  a 
piscina,  or  reservoir.  This  building  is  rectangular  except  on 
the  east  where  it  is  curved,  and  consists  of  nine  parallel  cham- 
bers lined  with  waterproof  cement.  Originally  there  was  a 
second  story,  as  in  the  piscina  of  the  baths  of  Caracalla.  The 
interior  walls  are  pierced  with  openings,  so  arranged  as  not  to 
be  opposite  each  other. 

Thermae.  —  We  are  told  that  when  the  Colosseum  was  dedi- 
cated, Titus  built  the  thermae  Titianae  near  by  with  great  speed, 
and  celebrated  their  completion  with  magnificent  games.2 
These  baths  were  still  used  in  the  fourth  century ; 3  and  in 
the  sixteenth  so  much  of  them  was  visible  that  drawings 
could  be  made.  After  that  time  they  were  almost  totally 
destroyed,  .and  it  is  only  within  recent  years  that  a  few 
meagre  remains  have  come  to  light.  They  are  situated  just 
west  of  the  thermae  Traiauae,  on  the  edge  of  the  slope  over- 
hanging the  Colosseum,  and  within  the  domus  Aurea.  A  wide 
flight  of  steps  led  up  from  the  paved  area  round  the  Colos- 
seum to  the  thermae,  which  were  about  18  metres  above.  Re- 
cent excavations  have  disclosed  the  ruins 4  of  a  sort  of  portions 

1  Mitt.  1896,  213;  BC.  1895,  174-181. 

2  Suet.  Tit.  7;  Dio  Cass.  Ixvi.  25;  Mart,  de  Spect.  2.  7;  iii.  20,  15;  BC.  1895, 
110-115;  Jordan,  I.  3.  307-310. 

8  MX.  Reg.  iii ;  OIL.  vi.  9797;  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  146. 
*  BC.  1895, 117-127. 


454 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


at  the  foot  of  this  flight  of  steps,  consisting  of  a  row  of  six 
pilasters,  adorned  with  half  columns  on  travertine  bases  and 
originally  connected  by  arches.  This  portions  may  have  be- 
longed distinctively  to  the  approach  of  the  thermae,  or  to  a 
portions  that  surrounded  a  large  part  of  the  Colosseum  area.  In 
the  fifth  century  the  porticus  was  completely  changed  in  appear- 
ance, and  a  Christian  cemetery  located  here.  The  facade  of  the 


-1TTTT 
FIG.  87.  — THE  BATHS  OF  TITUS  AND  TRAJAN. 


thermae  was  toward  the  north,  and  of  this  a  small  portion  was 
found.  These  baths  were  the  smallest  of  those  known  to  us, 
measuring  about  105  by  120  metres,  and  no  actual  buildings  of 
the  domus  Aurea  appear  to  have  been  destroyed  to  make  room 
for  them. 
Nothing  is  known  of  the  circumstances  attending  the  build- 


THE  ESQUILINE  — REGION  III.  455 

ing  of  the  thermae  Traianae.  Trajan  *  erected  them  between  the 
portions  Liviae  and  the  thermae  Titianae,  thereby  destroying 
or  burying  a  considerable  part  of  the  domus  Aurea.  Our 
knowledge  of  their  plan  is  based  upon  a  small  fragment  of  the 
Marble  Plan,2  on  drawings  of  the  sixteenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries,  when  enough  of  the  building  was  left  to  admit  of 
quite  exact  description,  and  on  the  very  meagre  remains  which 
are  now  visible.  They  corresponded  in  general  with  the  other 
thermae.  The  main  building  contained  a  rectangular  frigida- 
rium,  a  tepidarium,  and  a  circular  caldarium,  with  apodyteria 
or  dressing-rooms,  open  courts  or  palaestrae  at  each  end  sur- 
rounded with  colonnades,  and  the  usual  number  of  small  baths 
and  rooms  for  various  purposes.  This  main  building  was  sur- 
rounded on  three  sides,  east,  south,  and  west,  by  a  peribolus 
which  contained  libraries,  reading-rooms,  gymnasia,  and  exe- 
drae  at  the  four  corners.  In  the  middle  of  the  south  side 
was  a  very  large  exedra,  which  served  as  a  theatre.  This 
exedra  was  built  over  that  part  of  the  domus  Aurea  already 
described  (p.  452) ;  and  in  order  to  provide  sufficiently  strong 
foundations  for  the  cavea  of  the  theatre,  additional  walls  were 
built  through  the  chambers  of  the  domus  Aurea,  some  corre- 
sponding with  the  walls  of  these  chambers  and  others  with  the 
orientation  of  the  baths  themselves.  The  axis  of  the  domus 
Aurea  runs  north  and  south,  while  that  of  the  thermae  runs 
northeast  and  southwest  at  an  angle  of  30°  from  the  meridian. 
The  extreme  measurements  of  these  baths  are  340  metres  in 
width  and  330  in  depth,  or,  excluding  the  exedral  projections, 
280  by  210  metres.  The  chief  remains  now  visible  belong  to 
the  exedrae  at  the  northeast  and  southwest  corners  and  to  the 
east  palaestra.  These  baths  contained  many  works  of  art,  some 
of  which  have  been  recovered,  notably  the  Laocoon  group. 

1  Pausan.  v.  12. 4;  Dio  Cass.  Ixix.  4;  OIL.  vi.  1670,  8677,  8678,  9797;  Gilbert, 
III.  297. 

2  Jordan,  FUR.1W;  Mon.d.Lincei,  i.  484-485;  Mitt.  1892,302-304;  Jordan, 
I.  3.  310-314. 


456  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

Private  Houses.  —  Besides  the  house  of  Vedius  Pollio,  another 
famous  house  in  this  region  was  that  of  Pompeius,1  which  stood 
in  Carinis  near  the  temple  of  Tellus,  and  was  ornamented  with 
rostra 2  that  had  been  taken  from  captured  pirate  ships.  After 
the  death  of  Pompeius  the  house  became  the  property  of 
Aritonius,  and  later  of  the  imperial  family.  Tiberius  lived  in 
it  before  his  accession ; 3  and  in  the  third  century  it  belonged 
to  the  Gordiani. 

Throughout  the  whole  Esquiline  district  very  many  ruins  of 
private  dwellings  have  been  found  which  can  seldom  or  never 
be  identified  with  any  certainty.4  In  a  few  cases,  the  discovery 
of  inscriptions  gives  the  clew  to  the  owners'  names.  Thus  we 
know  that  the  house  of  M.  Servilius  Fabianus 5  was  south  of 
the  clivus  Suburanus  and  just  east  of  the  porticus  Liviae; 
that  of  Vettius  Agorius  Praetextatus  and  Fabia  Paulina6  was 
northeast  of  the  porta  Esquilina  and  outside  the  Servian  wall ; 
and  that  of  Petronius  Maximus 7  was  destroyed  by  the  building 
of  the  domus  Aurea.  The  house  of  Bruttius  Praesens  in  this 
region  is  singled  out  for  mention  in  the  Notitia,  and  was  prob- 
ably especially  noteworthy.  The  emperor  Balbinus 8  lived  on 
the  Carinae.  Near  Le  Sette  Sale  (p.  453)  are  remains 9  of  a 
tenement  house  called  the  insula  Vitaliana,  from  its  builder  or 
owner. 

The  present  church  of  S.  Clemente  is  built  over  an  earlier 
basilica,  which,  in  its  turn,  rests  upon  a  stratum  of  early  im- 
perial opus  latericium ;  and  beneath  this  is  a  great  mass  of 
opus  quadratum  of  tufa.  This  belongs  to  the  republican  period 
and  probably  to  some  public  building,  not  to  a  private  house, 
but  there  is  no  clew  as  to  its  identity.  Below  the  first  basilica 


1  Suet,  de  Gramm.  15 ;  App.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  126 ;  Veil.  ii.  77 ;  Cic.  de  Har.  Reap. 
49;  Gilbert,  III.  355. 

2  Cic.  Phil.  ii.  68 ;  Jul.  Cap.  Vit.  Gord.  3.  «  Suet.  Tib.  15. 

4  Cf.,  however,  Lanciani,  Forma  Urbis,  23,  24,  30. 

5  CIL.  vi.  1517.  6  GIL.  xv.  7563.  '  OIL.  vi.  1197-1198. 

8  Jul.  Cap.  Vit.  Maximi  et  Salbini,  16.         9  BC.  1895,  129 ;  GIL.  vi.  33893. 


THE   ESQUILINE  —  REGION  IV.  457 

and  behind  the  apse  are  the  chambers  of  a  house  of  the  period 
before  the  Antonines,  and  among  them  a  Mithraeum,  or  shrine 
of  Mithras.1 

REGION  IV. 

This  region  took  its  name  from  the  templum  Pacis  of  Vespa- 
sian. The  monumental  structures  in  its  southwest  part,  along 
the  Sacra  via,  have  been  described  in  Chapter  XII. 

Its  two  principal  streets,  the  Argiletum  and  the  Subura,  were 
perhaps  the  most  crowded,  noisy,  and  disreputable  in  the  city. 
Certainly  the  reputation  of  the  Subura2  was  of  the  very  worst, 
as  is  amply  testified  by  the  evidence  of  literature.  Retail  busi- 
ness 3  of  every  description  was  carried  on  here ;  but  the  Argile- 
tum seems  to  have  been  noted  especially  for  its  book  and  shoe 
shops,4  while  there  is  epigraphic  and  literary  evidence  for  the 
presence  in  the  Subura  of  crepidarii,5  lanarii,6  praecones,7  fer- 
rarii,8  lintearii,9  and  impilarii,10  and  it  was  notorious  for  brothels 
and  drinking  shops.11  In  spite  of  this  unsavory  character,  the 
Subura  retained  its  importance,  and  no  less  a  person  than 
Julius  Caesar  lived  in  a  house  in  this  street,  in  which  the 
grammarian  Antonius  Gnipho  taught  for  a  time.12 

Temples  and  Shrines. —  Except  for  the  great  temples  on  the 
Sacra  via,  buildings  devoted  to  religious  purposes  were  neither 
numerous  nor  important  in  this  region.  Probably  the  oldest 
temple  was  that  of  Tellus,  situated  on  the  west  slope  of  the 
Carinae,13  just  west  of  the  boundary  of  region  III,  on  the 
site  of  the  house  of  Sp.  Cassius,14  who  was  said  to  have  been 
put  to  death  for  alleged  treason  in  485  B.C.  In  270  B.C. 

1  OIL.  vi.  748;  Bull.  Crist.  1870, 125  ff. 

2  Mart.  xii.  18.  2 ;  Juv.  xi.  51.  a  Mart.  vii.  31. 
<  Mart.  i.  3.  1 ;  117.  9;  ii.  17.  3;  cf.  vicus  Sandaliarius,  p.  448. 

6  CIL.  vi.  9284.  '  OIL.  vi.  1953.  »  CIL.  vi.  9526. 

«  CIL.  vi.  9491.  8  CIL.  vi.  9399.  10  CIL.  vi.  33862. 

«  Mart.  vi.  66. 1-2 ;  xi.  61.  3.  «  Suet.  Goes.  46 ;  de  Oramm.  7. 

18  Dionys.  viii.  79;  Suet,  de  Gramm.  15. 
1*  Cic.  de  Domo,  101 ;  Val.  Max.  vi.  3,  1. 


458  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   EOME. 

P.  Sempronius  Sophus  vowed  a  temple  to  Tellus,1  but  the 
building  which  he  erected  was  probably  only  an  enlargement  or 
rebuilding  of  a  much  earlier  one.  The  area  in  front  of  the 
temple  was  dedicated  to  Ceres,2  and  the  two  goddesses  were 
worshipped  here  together  on  December  13.  The  temple  was 
restored  by  Q.  Cicero,  who  had  a  house  near  by,  about  54  B.C., 
and  apparently  some  of  the  ground  hitherto  belonging  to  it  fell 
into  Cicero's  hands.3  The  temple  is  mentioned  in  the  fourth 
century,  and  while  no  remains  have  been  found,  it  was  undoubt- 
edly situated  just  east  of  the  via  del  Colosseo.4  Near  by  were 
the  horrea  Ohartaria,5  or  paper  warehouses. 

The  temple  of  luno  Lucina 6  was  built  in  375  B.C.  It  stood  in 
a  grove 7  on  the  slope  of  the  Cispius,  overlooking  the  Subura, 
and  near  the  sixth  chapel  of  the  Argei.  This  would  place  it 
west  of  the  church  of  S.  Prassede,  near  the  via  dei  Quattro 
Cantoni.  Little  is  known  of  the  later  history  of  this  temple, 
except  that  in  41  B.C.  a  murus  lunonis  Lucinae8  was  either 
built  or  restored,  and  that  the  edifice  itself  continued  to  exist 
during  the  empire.  The  annual  festival  of  the  Matronalia 9 
was  celebrated  here  on  March  1,  and  votive  inscriptions  to 
Juno  have  been  found  in  the  neighborhood. 

In  the  vicus  Sandaliarius  was  a  statue  of  Apollo  Sandaliarius 10 
and  a  shrine  dedicated  by  the  magistri  of  that  vicus  to  Stata 
Fortuna,11  and  in  the  vicus  Patricius  was  a  shrine  of  Diana.12  In 
or  near  this  same  street  was  also  a  shrine  and  grove  of  Mefitis.13 


i  Flor.  i.  14.  2  Dionys.  viii.  79 ;  Liv.  ii.  41 ;  OIL.  R  pp.  336-337. 

s  Cic.  de  Har.  Resp.  31 ;  ad  Q.  Fr.  ii.  3.7 ;  iii.  1.14. 

*  BC.  1892,  19-37;  Mitt.  1893,  299-302;  Elter,  Forma  Urbis,  i.  9  ;  Gilbert,  I. 
193-195 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  323-326. 

8  Not.  Reg.  iv. 

6  Varro,  LL.  v.  49,  50 ;  PI.  NH.  xvi.  235 ;  Ov.  Fast.  ii.  435-436;  iii.  247-248; 
BC.  1888,  394;  1889,  40;  Mitt.  1889,  281. 

J  BC.  1905,  204-209.  u  CIL.  vi.  761. 

«  CIL.  vi.  358;  Eckhel,  vii.  99.  "  Plut.  Quaest.  Rom.  3. 

»  CIL.  &.  p.  310.  "  Varro,  LL.  v.  49;  Fest.  351. 

w  Suet.  Aug.  57. 


THE   ESQUILINE  —  REGION  IV.  459 

In  1888,  at  the  corner  of  the  via  S.  Lucia  in  Selci  (clivus 
Suburanus)  and  the  via  dei  Quattro  Cantoni  a  marble  base  was 
discovered,  on  which  had  stood  a  statue,  and  behind  it  part 
of  an  early  travertine  altar.  On  the  base  was  an  inscription 
recording  the  dedication  in  10  B.C.  of  the  statue  to  Mercurius.1 
This  was  one  of  the  statues  which  Augustus  erected  at  various 
points  in  the  city  with  the  money  which  the  citizens  presented 
to  him  on  New  Year's  Day.  The  monument  stood  in  a  paved 
area,  evidently  the  crossing  of  the  clivus  Suburanus  and 
another  street  (the  vicus  Sobrius  ?  ),2  and  the  statue  was  perhaps 
that  of  Mercurius  Sobrius.3  The  older  travertine  altar  was  prob- 
ably one  of  those  which  marked  compita,  and  possibly  replaced 
one  of  the  older  shrines  of  the  Argei. 

Other  Public  Buildings.  —  In  the  Subura  was  a  tower,  the 
turns  Mamilia,4  on  which  the  inhabitants  of  the  district,  the 
Suburanenses,  fastened  the  head  of  the  horse  which  was  sacri- 
ficed at  the  October  festival,  if  they  were  successful  in  their 
annual  contest  with  the  Sacravienses  (p.  41).  The  quarter 
immediately  around  this  tower  was  called  ad  turrim  Mamiliam. 

An  atrium  Sutorium 5  is  mentioned  as  being  the  place  where 
the  annual  ceremony  of  the  tubilustrium  was  observed;  and 
while  it  is  not  even  known  in  what  part  of  the  city  this  build- 
ing was  situated,  it  is  natural  to  connect  it  with  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  shoe  trade,  and  to  place  it  in  the  Argiletum.  As  it 
is  not  mentioned  after  the  first  century,  it  may  have  stood  on 
the  site  afterward  occupied  by  the  forum  Transitorium." 

At  the  east  end  of  the  forum  Transitorium  and  abutting 
against  the  apse  of  the  forum  of  Augustus,  are  the  remains  of 
a  curved  wall,  opening  toward  the  Argiletum,  which  is  prob- 

1  BC.  1888,  221-231 ;  Suet.  Aug.  57. 

2  Fest.  Epit.  297 ;  OIL.  vi.  9483.  »  OIL.  vi.  9714. 

*  Fest.  178,  Epit.  131;   Gilbert,  II.  46,  94;    BC.   1888,   398-399;    CIL.  vi. 
33837. 

6  Varro,  LL.  vi.  14;  Fest.  352;  CIL.  i«.  p.  313. 

•  Jordan,  I,  2.  452;  Gilbert.  1.  144. 


460  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

ably  the  portions  Absidata l  mentioned  in  the  Notitia.  It  formed 
a  species  of  pendant  to  the  forum  Transitorium. 

The  Eoman  markets,  which  had  originally  been  held  in  the 
Forum  itself,  were  gradually  removed  to  make  room  for  more 
important  interests  (p.  169).  The  forum  Cuppedinis,2  or  market 
for  delicacies,  and  the  forum  Piscarium,3  or  fish-market,  were 
in  the  district  between  the  Sacra  via  and  the  Argiletum  at 
least  as  early  as  the  third  century  B.C.,  and  the  general  market4 
must  have  been  established  there  at  about  the  same  time.  In 
210  B.C.  the  forum  Piscarium  was  burned,5  and  a  few  years 
later,  in  179  B.C.,  M.  Fulvius  Nobilior  built  a  new  market-house, 
the  Macellum,  and  also  his  new  basilica  Aemilia  between  the 
Macellum  and  the  Forum.6  Into  this  Macellum  the  different 
markets  were  brought  together,7  and  thenceforth  this  name 
displaced  the  earlier  individual  designations.  The  building 
consisted  of  a  central  tholus,  surrounded  by  shops.8  It  con- 
tinued to  be  the  principal  market  of  Home  until  Augustus 
began  to  build  other  markets  in  different  quarters  of  the  city. 
Its  usefulness  even  for  the  Subura  was  greatly  diminished  by 
the  establishment  of  the  macellum  Liviae  (p.  470),  and  it  was 
entirely  removed  at  last  to  make  room  for  the  forum  of  Vespa- 
sian. Near  the  Fauces  Macelli,9  the  entrance  to  the  market-house, 
were  the  atria  Licinia,10  or  auction  rooms. 

The  only  baths  in  this  region  of  which  we  have  any  definite 
knowledge  were  the  balnea  Naeratii  Oerialis,u  built  by  Naeratius 
Cerialis,  consul  in  358  A.D.  They  were  situated  in  the  square 
now  bounded  by  the  vie  Cavour,  Manin,  Farini,  and  the  piazza 

1  Mon.  del  Lincei,  i.  530-532;  Jordan,  II.  99-100,  319;  Melanges,  1889,  350. 

2  Varro,  LL.  v.  146;  Fest.  48;  Donat.  ad  Ter.  Eun.  256. 

3  Plaut.  Cure.  474  ;  Varro,  loc.  cit. 

4  Jordan,  I.  2.  432-435 ;  Gilbert,  III.  207-209. 

5  Liv.  xxvi.  27 ;  xxvii.  11.  6  Liv>  xl.  51. 
T  Varro,  LL.  v.  147 ;  Plaut.  Pseud.  168 ;  Ter.  Eun.  255-257. 

8  Varro,  ap.  Non.  448;  Altmann,  Rundbauten,  74. 

9  Cic.  Verr.  iii.  145 ;  pro  Quinct.  25.  1°  Cic.  pro  Quinct.  12. 
11  CIL.  vi.  1744,  31916;  BC.  1874,  84-88;  1905,  294-299. 


THE  ESQUILINE  —  REGION  IV.  461 

dell'  Esquilino,  but  the  remains  are  too  meagre  to  admit  of 
any  attempt  at  reconstruction.  At  the  time  when  these  baths 
were  built,  the  area  south  of  them  now  occupied  by  S.  Maria 
Maggiore  was  called  the  Sicininum,1  but  no  explanation  of  this 
name  has  been  given. 

Inscriptions 2  found  at  the  corner  of  the  via  Mazzini  and  the 
via  Carlo  Alberto  indicate  that  probably  at  this  point  there  was 
a  building  called  the  castra  Pontanorum,  apparently  the  head- 
quarters of  the  fontani  or  fullones?  This  guild  erected  statues 
and  votive  altars  to  Victoria,  Diana,  Hercules,  and  Minerva,  in 
gratitude  for  its  victory  in  some  litigation  with  the  curatores 
aquarum,  between  226  and  244  A.D. 

Near  this  point  Junius  Bassus,  consul  in  317  A.D.,  erected  a 
basilica,4  which  was  converted  into  the  church  of  S.  Andrea 
between  468  and  482.  The  church  was  destroyed  in  1686. 

Private  Houses.  —  The  excavations  have  brought  to  light 
evidence  for  the  site  and  ownership  of  several  private  houses 
in  this  region,  which  is  perhaps  more  definite  than  at  some 
other  points  (cf.  p.  456).  The  house  of  T.  Flavius  Tibe- 
rianus*  was  at  the  corner  of  the  via  Mazzini  and  via  Napo- 
leone  III ;  that  of  L.  Octavius  Felix,  near  the  railroad  sta- 
tion ;  those  of  Geminia  Bassa,  Q.  Munatius  Celsus,  and  L. 
Naevius  Clemens,  just  inside  the  porta  Viminalis;  and  that 
of  Naeratius  Cerialis,  close  to  his  balnea.  Near  S.  Martino 
ai  Monti  the  remains  of  a  large  house  of  the  fourth  century 
were  found,6  among  which  was  an  aedicula,  the  lararium  of 
the  house,  which  contained  a  statue  of  Isis  as  Fortuna  and 
busts  of  other  divinities.  Below  and  behind  this  aedicula  was 
a  Mithraeum,  or  square  chamber  dedicated  to  the  worship  of 
this  oriental  deity.  On  the  wall  was  a  relief  of  Mithras  slaying 
the  bull. 


1  BC.  1899,  230-233.  *  EC.  1893,  89-104 ;  OIL.  vi.  1737. 

2  CIL.  vi.  70, 127,  266-268.        «  CIL.  xv.  7453. 

8  BC.  1876,  139-140.  «  BC.  1885,  27-38 ;  NS.  1885,  67,  154. 


462  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

In  the  old  via  Graziosa,  which  has  now  given  way  to  the  via 
Cavour,  in  the  year  1848  a  house  was  found  which  contained 
the  wall  paintings,  representing  landscapes  from  the  Odyssey, 
which  are  now  in  the  Vatican  in  the  room  of  the  Aldobrandini 
Nuptials. 

REGION  V. 

Temples  and  Shrines.  —  Buildings  devoted  to  religious  pur- 
poses were  few  and  unimportant  in  this  region.  The.  temple 
of  Minerva  Medica,1  dating  from  republican  times,  was  probably 
situated  west  of  the  via  Merulana  in  the  via  Curva,  where  in 
1887  some  ruins  of  tufa  walls  resembling  favissae  were  found, 
together  with  hundreds  of  votive  offerings,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  this  site  does  not  seem  to  agree  with  the  order 
followed  in  the  itinerary  of  the  Notitia. 

Just  inside  the  porta  Praenestina  was  a  district  known  as 
ad  Spem  veterem,2  the  meeting  place  of  several  aqueducts  (p.  93). 
This  name  was  probably  derived  from  an  ancient  temple  of 
Spes,  which  is  mentioned  three  times 3  in  literature,  and  to 
which  the  via  Gabina  must  have  led  from  the  porta  Esquilina. 
Nothing  more  is  known  of  this  temple  or  its  history. 

Near  the  church  of  S.  Eusebio  many  inscriptions 4  have  been 
found  which  record  dedications  made  by  foreign  soldiers,  espe- 
cially Thracians,  to  their  native  deities.  These  inscriptions 
mark  the  site  of  some  shrine,  perhaps  one  of  Mars  and  Hercules.5 
Other  inscriptions,6  found  near  by,  were  dedicated  to  luppiter 
Dolichenus  (cf.  p.  416). 

Lastly,  the  Notitia  mentions  a  temple  to  Hercules  Sullanus/ 

1  OIL.  vi.  10133,  30980;  Not.  Reg.  v;  BC.  1887,  154-156, 192-200;  1888,  124- 
125;  Mitt.  1889,  278;  Jordan,  I.  3.  353. 

2  Front,  de  Aquis,  5, 19,  20,  21,  65;  Lanciani,  Acque,  36;   Herschel,  Fronti- 
nus,  144 ;  OIL.  xv.  5929. 

8  Liv.  ii.  51;  Dionys.  ix.  24;  Lamprid.  Vit.  Elag.  13.  Cf.,  however,  Jordan, 
I.  3.  365. 

<  CIL.  vi.  2797-2860,  and  freq. ;  BC.  1893,  261-271 ;  1894,  101-128,  225-240. 
6  CIL.  vi.  2819.  «  CIL.  vi.  3698-3699. 

'  Jordan.  I.  3.  359-360;  II.  129;  Altmann,  Bundbauten,  81-83. 


THE  ESQUILINE  —  REGION  V.  463 

evidently  erected  by  Sulla,  perhaps  for  his  victory  over  Marius 
on  the  Esquiline ;  and  a  shrine  or  temple  of  Isis  Patricia. 

Water  Works.  —  The  most  characteristic  features  of  this 
region  were  the  aqueducts  which  crossed  the  Esquiline  in 
various  directions  after  having  entered  the  city  ad  Spem  Ve- 
terem,  and  the  horti  or  parks.  The  aqueducts  have  been 
described  in  Chapter  VI.  There  were  nymphaea,  great  foun- 
tains, and  piscinae  or  distributing  stations,  at  various  points 
throughout  the  region,  and  remains  of  many  of  them  have  been 
found.  The  most  conspicuous  of  the  nymphaea  is  that  which 
stands  southwest  of  the  railroad  tracks  in  the  viale  Principessa 
Margherita,  in  the  ancient  horti  Liciniani  (p.  467).  These 
ruins 1  were  known  in  the  middle  ages  as  the  Terme  di  Galluc- 
cio  or  Le  Galluzze,  and  after  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century  as  Minerva  Medica,  having  been  erroneously  identi- 
fied with  that  temple.  The  Notitia  mentions  in  region  V  a 
nymphaeum  dm  Alexandri,  and  it  is  still  a  disputed  question 
whether  this  name  belongs  to  the  nymphaeum  under  considera- 
tion, or  to  another.  The  ruins  consist  of  a  decagonal  hall  of 
opus  latericium,  covered  with  a  vaulted  roof  and  surrounded 
on  three  sides  with  other  chambers.  In  the  interior  of  the 
hall  are  nine  niches,  besides  the  entrance ;  and  above  these  are 
ten  corresponding  round-arched  windows.  The  diameter  of 
the  hall  is  about  34  metres  and  the  height  was  33.  The  out- 
side walls  were  covered  with  marble,  and  the  interior  richly 
decorated  in  a  similar  manner.  Some  of  the  pavement  of 
porphyry  has  been  found. 

In  the  piazza  Vittoria  Emanuele  are  the  remains  of  a  great 
fountain,  popularly  known  as  I  Trofei  di  Mario,  which  has  some- 
times been  erroneously  regarded  as  a  castellum  aquae.  This 
ruin  was  called  Cimbrum  or  templum  Marii  in  the  middle  ages,2 
because  in  its  niches  were  the  trophies  (tropaea)  removed 
by  Sixtus  V  in  1587,  which  are  now  on  the  balustrade  of  the 

i  SC.  1883,  17-18.  2  Mitt.  1899,  255-259. 


464  TOPOGKAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

piazza  del  Campidoglio.  These  trophies  date  from  the  time 
of  Domitian,  and  therefore  are  not  those  erected  by  Marius 
on  the  Esquiline  or  elsewhere  (p.  304).  We  do  not  know  how 
the  name  came  to  be  transferred  from  one  set  of  trophies  to 
another  which  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  first.  The  structure 
itself  is  of  uncertain  date  but  may  belong  to  the  time  of  Domi- 
tian.1 As  it  is  a  monumental  fountain,  standing  at  the  angle 
between  two  streets,  the  via  Tiburtina  and  the  via  Praenestina, 
it  has  been  identified  with  the  lacus  Orphei,2  mentioned  in  the 
Notitia,  which  was  evidently  a  fountain  named  from  a  statue 
of  Orpheus.  This  fountain  is  fed  by  the  aqua  lulia,  and  the 
existing  ruins  of  brick-faced  concrete  indicate  a  high  circular 
structure,  perhaps  40  metres  in  diameter,  with  two  stories  and 
quite  complicated  in  arrangement.  Around  the  interior  of  the 
halls  on  each  floor  were  niches,  and  water  probably  flowed  out 
from  openings  in  the  walls  into  a  surrounding  basin. 

A  third  nymphaeum,  which  may  have  been  the  nymphaeum 
divi  Alexandri,  is  reported 3  to  have  been  found  at  the  close  of 
the  fifteenth  century  in  the  villa  Altieri,  near  the  corner  of 
the  new  streets,  the  via  Bixio  and  the  via  Principe  Eugenic. 

Hprti.  —  Horti,  gardens  or  parks  which  were  generally  laid 
out  by  private  individuals  and  afterward  in  most  cases  fell 
into -the  possession  of  the  emperors,  surrounded  almost  the 
entire  city.  They  were  most  numerous,  however,  in  regions 
V  and  VII,  and  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river.  Credit  for  the 
development  of  this  system  is  apparently  due  to  Maecenas, 
who  transformed  the  worst  part  of  the  Esquiline  cemetery 
(p.  446)  by  partially  levelling  the  agger,  filling  up  the  moat, 
and  covering  the  area  with  earth  to  a  depth  about  6  metres, 
and  then  laid  out  the  horti  Maecenatis.4 

1  Jordan,  I.  3.  349-350. 

2  Mart.  x.  19.6-7;   Not.  Reg.  v;  Jordan,  I.  3.  345;   II.  127,  495;   Lanciani, 
Ruins,  57.  8  Vacca,  Memorie,  109;  Jordan,  II.  128. 

4  Hor.  Sat.  i.  8.  7,  14,  and  Schol. ;  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  39;  Gilbert,  III.  361-362; 
Jordan,  I.  3-  346-347, 


THE  ESQUILINE  — REGION  V. 


465 


The  extent 1  of  these  gardens  is  uncertain,  and  topographers 
are  not  agreed  as  to  whether  they  lay  on  both  sides  of  the 
agger  and  both  north  and  south  of  the  porta  Esquilina.  What- 
ever may  have  been  the  original  area  laid  out  by  Maecenas,  in 
their  final  shape  the  gardens  probably  stretched  out  on  both 
sides  of  the  agger  north  of  the  gate,  and  also  south  of  the 
gate,  but  how  far  is  only  a  matter  of  conjecture.  At  the 


FIG.  88.  —  THE  SO-CALLED  AUDITORIUM  OF  MAECENAS. 

death  of  Maecenas  these  gardens  became  the  property  of  Augus- 
tus. Nero  connected  them  with  the  doraus  Aurea,  and  viewed 
the  burning  of  Rome  from  the  turns  Maecenatiana,2  a  tower  in 
the  gardens  which  was  praised  as  moles  p^opinqua  nubibus 
arduis.3  The  gardens  perhaps  contained  a  swimming  pool  of 
warm  water.* 

The  ruins  of  one  very  curious  building  in  these  gardens  still 
remain.     It  is  the  so-called  Auditorium  Maecenatis,5  in  the  angle 

*  BC.  1874,  166-171.  2  Suet.  Nero,  38.  «  Hor.  Od.  Hi.  29.  10. 

*  Dio  Cass.  Iv.  7  6  BC.  1874, 137-165 


466  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

between  the  via  Merulana  and  the  via  Leopardi.  It  is  a  hall 
of  opus  reticulatum  in  the  style  of  the  beginning  of  the 
empire,  and  built  directly  across  the  line  of  the  Servian  wall. 
At  the  west  end  is  a  semicircular  apse ;  the  length  of  the  hall 
is  24.40  metres  and  its  width  10.60.  Since  the  floor  is  7 
metres  below  the  ancient  level  of  the  ground,  the  hall  had  to 
be  entered  by  an  inclined  plane.  The  walls  reach  6  metres 
above  this  ancient  ground  level,  and  the  roof  was  probably 
vaulted.  In  the  apse  are  seven  rows  of  curved  steps,  arranged 
like  the  cavea  of  a  theatre.  Above  these  steps  in  the  apse  are 
five  niches,  and  six  more  in  each  of  the  side  walls  of  the  hall. 
All  of  these  were  beautifully  painted  with  garden  scenes  and 
landscapes,  but  the  frescoes  have  almost  entirely  disappeared. 
The  pavement  is  of  black  and  white  mosaic.  While  the  pur- 
pose of  this  hall  is  entirely  uncertain,  it  was  probably  not  an 
auditorium  and  may  have  been  intended  as  a  conservatory.1 

Near  the  horti  Maecenatiani  were  the  horti  Lamiani,2  which 
were  probably  laid  out  by  L.  Aelius  Lamia,  consul  in  3  A.D. 
The  house  of  the  Lamiae 3  was  near  the  Trofei  di  Mario,  and 
the  horti  extended  south  from  about  this  point,  and  east  of  the 
ancient  street  (via  Merulana)  which  separated  them  from  the 
gardens  of  Maecenas.  They  became  imperial  property,  and 
Caligula's  ashes  were  deposited  here  before  being  carried  to 
the  mausoleum  of  Augustus.  With  these  horti  were  connected 
the  horti  Maiani,4  of  which  nothing  further  is  known ;  but  the 
two  are  mentioned  together  as  forming  one  whole,  —  horti 
Lamiani  et  Maiani.  The  area  occupied  by  these  gardens  is 
approximately  bounded  by  the  piazza  Vittorio  Emanuele,  the 
via  Machiavelli,  the  via  Bixio,  the  via  Emanuele  Filiberto,  and 


1  Bull.  d.  1st.  1875,  89. 

2  Suet.  Cal.  59 ;   Philo  Jud.  de  Virt.  ii.  597 ;   OIL.  vi.  8668 ;  Gilbert,  III.  362 ; 
Jordan,  I.  3,  347,  where  Hiilsen  regards  the  site  of  these  gardens  as  entirely 
uncertain;  BC.  1907,  34. 

»  Cf .  Hor.  Od.  i.  26 ;  iii.  17 ;  Val.  Max.  iv.  4.  8. 
*  PI.  NH.  xxxv.  51 ;  OIL.  vi.  6152,  8668-8669. 


THE   ESQUILINE  —  REGION   V.  467 

the  via  Cairoli.  Ancient  writers  describe  the  magnificence  of 
the  buildings  and  works  of  art  within  this  area.  Of  the  latter 
many  have  been  found ;  but  of  the  buildings  themselves  only 
insignificant  remains,  —  rooms  of  opus  reticulatum,  a  nym- 
phaeum,  and  part  of  a  porticus. 

The  horti  Epaphroditiani,  Pallantiani,  and  Torquatiani,1  dat- 
ing from  the  first  century,  were  almost  contiguous  and  are 
mentioned  together.  The  horti  Epaphroditiani,  named  probably 
after  the  freedman  of  Nero,  lay  north  of  the  via  Praenestina, 
within  the  area  now  bounded  by  the  via  Principe  Eugenio,  the 
via  Mazzini,  the  via  di  S.  Bibiana,  and  the  piazza  Vittorio 
Emanuele.  The  horti  Pallantiani 2  were  north  of  the  horti  Epa- 
phroditiani and  of  the  via  di  S.  Bibiana,  probably  along  the 
line  of  the  via  Tiburtina  vetus,  between  the  porta  Esquilina 
and  the  porta  Tiburtina.  They  were  the  property  of  Pallas, 
the  freedman  of  Nero,  and  at  his  death  were  seized  by  Nero 
and  added  to  the  imperial  domain.  The  horti  Torquatiani  are 
mentioned  only  once,  but  were  probably  south  of  the  horti 
Epaphroditiani  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  via  Praenestina. 
They  may  have  belonged  to  Torquatus  Julius  Silanus,  who  was 
killed  and  whose  possessions  were  confiscated  by  Nero. 

The  horti  Liciniani 3  belonged  to  the  Licinian  family,  and  are 
first  mentioned  in  the  third  century,  in  connection  with  the 
emperor  of  that  family,  Gallienus,  who  made  these  gardens  his 
favorite  place  of  residence.  They  have  been  assigned  conjectu- 
rally  to  the  district  between  the  via  Praenestina  and  the  later 
wall  of  Aurelian,  from  the  horti  Epaphroditiani  east,  which 
latter  gardens  they  had  perhaps  absorbed.  The  remains  of 
some  nymphaea  have  been  found  within  this  area,  but  they  are 
insignificant,  except  that  described  on  page  463. 

Horti  Variani 4  is  the  name  ordinarily  given  to  a  large  park 
which  extended  south  from  the  porta  Praenestina  to  a  point 

1  Front,  de  Aquis,  5,  19,  20, 68-69 ;  BC.  1874, 53-54 ;  Lauciani,  Acque.  36-37 ; 
Gilbert,  III.  362. 

2  Not.  Reg.  v.        «  BC.  1874, 55 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  358.         *  Vop.  Vit.  Aur.  1. 


468  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

considerably  beyond  the  line  of  the  Aurelian  wall.  The  name 
is  derived  arbitrarily  from  Varius,  the  father  of  Elagabalus. 
These  gardens  certainly  belonged  to  this  emperor,  but  the 
name  given  them  in  his  biography l  is  horti  Spei  veteris,  and  it 
is  possible  that  the  horti  Vai-iani  were  really  on  the  Pincian. 
Elagabalus  is  said  to  have  built  a  temple  here  in  honor  of  his 
god  Elagabalus ; 2  and  within  that  part  of  the  gardens  which 
lies  outside  the  Aurelian  wall  remains  of  a  circus  are  said  to 
have  been  found.  The  fragments  of  an  Egyptian  obelisk,  found 
on  the  site  of  the  supposed  circus,  mark  the  site  of  a  sepulchral 
monument  of  Hadrian's  favorite,  Antinous,3  who,  however,  was 
not  buried  here.  This  obelisk  now  stands  on  the  Pincian. 
The  Aurelian  wall  was  built  across  these  gardens,  for  remains 
of  walls  connecting  the  two  parts  have  been  found,  and  the  ruins 
of  buildings  in  the  two  sections  have  the  same  orientation.4 
In  the  wall  itself  parts  of  structures  of  the  third  century  are 
embedded. 

The  horti  Tauriani  and  horti  Oalyclani,5  outside  the  Servian 
wall  and  north  of  the  porta  Esquilina,  appear  to  have  extended 
east  toward  the  porta  Tiburtina,  and  perhaps  adjoined  the 
horti  Pallantiani  on  the  north.  Their  limit  on  the  west  is 
marked  by  two  terminal  stones  discovered  in  the  via  Principe 
Amadeo.  The  horti  Tauriani  belonged  to  M.  Statilius  Taurus,6 
consul  in  44  A.D.,  whom  Agrippina  put  to  death  in  53  A.D.  in 
order  that  she  might  get  possession  of  the  gardens.  Of  the 
horti  Calyclani  nothing  is  known.  In  the  neighborhood  of 
these  gardens  was  a  forum  Tauri,  and  in  the  middle  ages  the 
district  was  called  Oaput  Tauri,7  perhaps  from  the  ox-skulls  on 
the  frieze  of  the  forum.  The  porta  Tiburtina  was.  also  called 
porta  Taurina,8  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  gardens 
extended  as  far  as  that  gate.  Near  the  horti  Tauriani  were 

i  Lamprid.  Vit.  Elag.  13.  «  Herodian.  v.  6.  6.          «  Mitt.  1896,  113-130. 

4  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  490-492.  6  Tac.  Ann.  xii.  59. 

6  BC.  1874,  57;  1875,  153;  OIL.  vi.  29771.  7  BC.  1890,  280-283. 

8  Urlichs,  Codex  Topoyraphicus,  115,  127-130,  150. 


THE  ESQUILINE  — REGION  V.  469 

the  horti  Vettiani,1  and  probably  the  horti  Scatoniani  also,2  but 
it  is  possible  that  this  last  name  was  applied  to  a  part  of  the 
horti  Vettiani. 

The  horti  Lolliani3  may  be  mentioned  here,  although  they 
were  not  in  region  V,  but  on  the  boundaries  of  IV  and  VI 
south  of  the  baths  of  Diocletian,  as  is  shown  by  a  traver- 
tine terminal  stone  discovered  at  the  corner  of  the  via  Prin- 
cipe Umberto  and  the  piazza  delle  Terme.  These  gardens 
probably  belonged  to  Lollia  Paulina,  the  defeated  rival  of 
Agrippina  for  the  hand  of  Claudius.  She  was  banished  by 
Agrippina  and  her  possessions  confiscated. 

All  these  gardens  were  probably  preserved  as  parks  until  the 
downfall  of  the  empire ;  but  after  that  time  they  must  have 
been  largely  converted  into  private  property  and  built  over,  for 
almost  the  whole  Esquiline  was  covered  with  streets  in  the 
early  middle  ages. 

According  to  the  Notitia,  the  campus  Viminalis  sub  aggere 4  was 
in  region  V,  and  must  have  extended  along  the  east  side  of  the 
agger,  south  of  the  vicus  collis  Viminalis.  It  is  probable  how- 
ever that  originally  it  also  extended  north  of  this  line. 

Other  Buildings.  —  The  Sessorium,  a  building5  known  in 
later  times  as  the  Palatium  Sessorianum,  was  built  before  the 
Aurelian  wall,  and  probably  as  early  as  the  first  century,  when 
it  is  apparently  spoken  of  as  being  near  the  spot  where  the 
execution  of  criminals  took  place  (p.  445).  The  origin  of  the 
name  is  unexplained,  but  the  building  became  an  imperial 
residence  in  the  fourth  century  and  was  a  favorite  home  of 
Helena,  the  mother  of  Constantine.  Its  site  is  known,  for  the 

i  CIL.  xv.  7563;  Lanciani,  Sytl.  Aq.  52.  *  OIL.  vi.  6281. 

8  BC.  1883,  220;  CIL.  vi.  31284;  Civilta  Cattolica,  1883,  210. 

*  Not.  Reg.  v ;  Arch.  d.  Soc.  Romano,  di  Storia  Patria,  1889, 199-207 ;  Mitt. 
1891,113;  Jordan,  11.129. 

6Plut.  Galba,  28;  Exc.  Valesia,  69;  Comm.  Cruq.  ad  Hor.  Epod.  5.  100; 
Sat.i.  8.  11;  Gilbert,  III.  311;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1877,  371;  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  490- 
492;  Jordan,  1.3.249. 


470  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

church  of  S.  Croce  in  Gerusalemme  occupies  one  of  the  halls 
of  the  ancient  palace.  This  rectangular  hall,  34  metres  long, 
21  wide,  and  20  high,  resembled  closely  the  templum  Sacrae 
Urbis  of  Vespasian  both  in  construction  and  scheme  of  deco- 
ration. It  was  converted  into  a  church  by  Constantine,  who 
added  the  apse  at  the  east  end,  but  the  columns  were  not  set 
up  until  the  eighth  century.  North  of  the  church,  in  the  gar- 
den, are  the  remains  of  another  hall  of  the  Sessorium,  consist- 
ing of  an  apse  and  the  walls  on  each  side.  This  hall  was  not 
destroyed  until  the  sixteenth  century. 

North  of  S.  Croce  in  the  vigna  Conti  are  the  ruins  of  some 
thermae,  including  a  piscina,  which  are  known  to  have  been 
restored  by  Helena  after  a  fire l  and  are  therefore  called  the 
thermae  Helenae.  Complete  plans  of  these  baths,  made  by 
Palladio  and  Sangallo  in  the  sixteenth  century,  are  in  exist- 
ence,2 but  the  ruins  themselves  are  very  meagre. 

The  barracks  of  the  cohors  II  vigilum 3  were  in  region  V,  and 
inscriptions  found  at  the  extreme  south  end  of  the  piazza  Vit- 
torio  Emanuele  indicate  their  site. 

Just  outside  the  porta  Esquilina  and  a  little  to  the  north  was 
the  macellum  Liviae,  or  market  built  by  Augustus  and  named 
after  his  wife.4  Between  the  piazza  Fanti  and  the  arcus  Galli- 
eni  the  ruins  of  an  open  court  surrounded  with  porticoes  and 
shops  have  been  found,  which  resembles  a  macellum ;  but  the 
construction,  of  brick  and  opus  reticulatum  without  ornament, 
dates  from  the  time  of  Trajan,  so  that  this  was  probably  a 
later  part  of  the  macellum  Liviae.  Inscriptions5  indicate 
restorations  of  this  macellum  in  the  third  and  fourth  centuries, 
and  it  appears  to  have  existed  until  the  late  middle  ages. 

The  porta  Esquilina,  which  may  have  opened  into  the  forum 

i  OIL.  vi.  1136;  BC.  1907, 114-121.  2  BC.  1896,  238. 

»  OIL.  vi.  414, 1059;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1858,  279-284;  Gilbert,  III.  196. 
<Dio  Cass.  lv.  8;  Not.  Reg.  v;  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  531;  Gilbert,  III.  238; 
Jordan,  I.  3.  344. 

6  GIL.  vi.  1178,  1662. 


THE   ESQUILINE  — KEGION  V. 


471 


Esquilinum  (p.  445),  disappeared  with  the  wall,  but  in  262  A.D. 
M.  Aurelius  Victor,  praefectus  urbi,  erected  on  its  site  an  arch, 
dedicated  to  the  emperor  Gallienus.  This  arcus  Gallieni  now 
stands  in  the  via  di  S.  Vito,  close  to  the  church  of  the  same 
name.  The  existing  single  arch  is  of  travertine.  Its  height 
is  8.80  metres,  its  width  7.30,  and  its  depth  3.50.  The  piers 
which  support  it  are  1.40  metres  wide  and  3.50  deep,  and 
outside  of  them  are  two  pilasters  of  the  same  depth,  with 
Corinthian  capitals.  The  entablature  is  2  metres  high,  with 


FIG.  89. —  REMAINS  OF  THE  AMPHITHEATRDM  CASTRENSE. 

the  dedicatory  inscription1  on  the  architrave.  Beneath  the 
spring  of  the  arch  on  each  side  is  a  simple  cornice.  Drawings 
of  the  fifteenth  century  show  small  side  arches,  but  almost  all 
traces  of  them  have  disappeared.  The  lower  part  of  the  arch 
is  buried  beneath  the  earth,  as  the  modern  level  is  considerably 
higher  than  the  ancient. 

South  of  S.  Croce  are  the  remains  of  another  amphitheatre, 
the   amphitheatrum   Oastrense,2  erected   some    time   during   the 

1  OIL.  vi.  1106. 

2  Not.  Reg.  v;  Jordan,  I.  3.  248  (where  Hiilseu  explains  the  name  as  equiv- 
alent to  '  Court- Amphitheatre  ') ;  BC.  1906,  73. 


472  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

second  century.  The  reason  for  the  name  is  unknown, 
although  it  is  sometimes  explained  as  one  given  to  the 
amphitheatre  because  it  was  built  for  the  soldiers  of  the 
castra  Praetoria,  or  for  the  foreign  soldiers  quartered  in 
that  region.  When  the  Aurelian  wall  was  built,  the  amphi- 
theatre was  utilized  as  a  part  of  the  line  of  fortification,  the 
wall  being  joined  to  it  in  the  middle  of  the  east  and  west 
sides.  The  outer  half  of  the  building  was  thus  made  a  pro- 
jecting bastion,  and  the  open  arcades  of  the  exterior  were 
walled  up.  The  inner  half  was  evidently  pulled  down,  so  that 
little  use  can  have  been  made  of  the  edifice  at  that  time.  It 
was  an  elliptical  building,  with  axes  88.5  and  78  metres  in 
length.  The  exterior  wall  consisted  of  three  stories  of  open 
arcades,  adorned  with  pilasters  with  Corinthian  capitals.  The 
whole  structure,  including  columns  and  capitals,  was  built  of 
brick  and  brick-faced  concrete.  Drawings1  of  the  sixteenth 
century  represent  all  three  stories,  but  since  that  time  the 
upper  one  has  entirely  disappeared  and  all  but  a  few  fragments 
of  the  second.  The  cavea  arid  the  wall  of  the  arena  have  also 
been  destroyed,  so  that  the  remaining  portion  consists  of  the 
walled-up  arcades  of  the  lowest  story. 

In  the  via  Tasso,  just  northwest  of  the  Scala  Santa,  the 
remains2  of  the  castra  equitum  singularium  were  found.  The 
equites  singulares  were  a  select  corps  of  cavalry,  organized  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  first  or  at  the  beginning  of  the  second 
century  as  a  body-guard  of  the  emperors.  The  meagre  ruins  of 
the  barracks  consisted  principally  of  the  wall  of  a  large  rectan- 
gular court  in  which  were  niches  and  in  front  of  the  niches 
inscribed  pedestals.  These  inscriptions3  have. thrown  much 
light  upon  the  organization  of  the  corps.  The  Notitia  speaks 


1  Lanciani,  Ruins,  386. 

2  NS.  1886,  12-21,  49-50;  1887,  139;  1891,  126-129;  EC.  1885,  137-156;  Mitt. 
1889,  279;  1892,  300;  Jordan,  I.  3.  246. 

»  GIL.   vi.  31138-31187;   Ann.   d.  1st.  1885,  235-291;  BC.  1886,  124-147; 
1906,  72-81. 


THE   ESQUILINE  —  REGION  V.  473 

of  castra  equitum  singularium  II,  and  an  attempt  has  been 
made  to  identify  the  second  of  these  barracks  with  some  ruins 
found  beneath  the  Corsini  chapel  of  the  Lateran,  but  without 
success. 

According  to  Procopius,  the  Vivarium1  was  near  the  porta 
Praenestina.  This  appears  to  have  been  a  rectangular  inclosure 
in  which  wild  beasts  intended  for  use  in  the  amphitheatre  were 
kept.  If  Procopius  is  correct,  the  structure  probably  stood  be- 
tween the  Aurelian  wall  and  the  via  Labicana.  In  the  middle 
ages,  however,  the  castra  Praetoria  was  called  the  Vivarium, 
and  a  building  just  south  of  it,  the  Vivariolum,  and  there  is 
some  further  evidence  in  support  of  the  view2  that  the  Viva- 
rium was  there  rather  than  at  the  porta  Praenestina.  On  the 
whole,  however,  the  latter  is  the  more  probable  site. 

Tombs.  —  Inside  the  porta  Praenestina,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  old  via  Praenestina,  during  the  laying  out  of  new  streets 
a  number  of  burial-places  have  been  found  which  have  yielded 
a  large  store  of  inscriptions.  Farthest  from  the  gate,  on  the 
west  of  the  viale  Principessa  Margherita,  was  the  tomb  of 
the  Arruntii,  monumentum  Arruntiorum,3  consisting  of  three 
columbaria,  which  probably  belonged  to  L.  Arruntius,  consul  in 
6  A.D.,  and  were  designed  for  his  family,  freedmen,  and  slaves. 
Nearer  the  gate  was  another  columbarium  with  three  rooms,  the 
monumentum  Statiliorum.4  One  of  the  members  of  this  family  was 
M.  Statilius  Taurus,  the  owner  of  the  horti  Tauriani.  In  the 
immediate  vicinity  were  several  other  columbaria,5  all  dating 
from  the  end  of  the  republic  or  the  early  part  of  the  first 
century.  They  were  buried  at  a  later  time ;  but  although  the 
interiors  were  filled  up,  care  was  taken  not  to  disturb  the  urns. 

1  Bell.  Goth.  i.  22-23;  Jordan,  I.  3.  365-367,  391-392. 

2  GIL.  vi.  130;  BC.  1876,  188;  1877,  93;  Lanciani,  Storia  degli  Scavi,  ii. 
247-249. 

8  OIL.  vi.  5931-5960 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  363. 
4  GIL.  vi.  6213-6640;  BC.  1880,  51-75. 
«  GIL.  vi.  5961-6148,  6641-6790,  and  plan  on  page  982. 


474  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

In  this  new  stratum  of  earth  later  graves  were  made,  and  near 
the  mouumentum  Statilioruin  tombs  of  three  periods  were 
found,  one  above  another.1  The  earliest  graves,  of  republican 
date,  were  9.75  metres,  the  columbaria  of  the  Augustan  age 
6.25  metres,  and  the  graves  of  the  third  century  from  2  to  3 
metres,  below  the  present  level. 

Close  to  the  outer  side  of  the  porta  Praenestina,  in  the  angle 
formed  by  the  via  Praenestina  and  the  via  Labicana,  is  a  most 
curious  tomb,  sepulchrum  Eurysacis,  which  was  built  by  a  baker, 
M.  Vergilius  Eurysaces,2  in  the  first  century  B.C.  The  tomb  is 
trapezoidal  in  shape,  and  built  of  concrete  faced  with  travertine. 
It  was  once  partially  covered  by  a  tower  which  flanked  the 
gate,  and  the  east  side  is  almost  demolished.  The  other  sides 
are  largely  composed  of  horizontal  and  vertical  rows  of  stone 
cylinders,  which  possibly  are  designed  to  represent  measures 
for  grain.  Above  them  is  a  cornice  and  a  frieze  covered  with 
reliefs  which  represent  the  various  operations  of  bread-making. 

1 2fS.  1880,  30. 

2  OIL.  vi.  1958  ;  E.  Caetani-Lovatelli,  Passegiate  nella  Roma  Antica, 
Rome,  1909,  151-176. 


CHAPTEK  XVIII. 

THE  VIA  LATA  AND  THE   PINCIAN   HILL. 
REGION  VII. 

Region  VII  was  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  via  Lata  (p.  125), 
which  gave  its  name  to  the  region  and  was  included  in  it,  and 
on  the  south  and  east,  as  far  as  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
Quirinal,  by  the  Servian  wall.  From  this  point  the  line  ran 
north,  probably  to  the  porta  Pinciana,  leaving  the  valley  be- 
tween the  Pincian  and  the  Quirinal  in  region  VI.  The  north 
limit  of  the  region  in  the  time  of  Augustus  is  not  known, 
but  a  stone l  of  Vespasian's  pomerium  (p.  68)  has  been  found 
west  of  the  porta  Pinciana,  showing  that  the  region  extended 
to  this  point  two  centuries  before  the  building  of  Aurelian's 
wall.  As  already  remarked,  the  substructures  of  the  Pincian 
on  the  north  and  east  were  made  a  part  of  Aurelian's  line  of 
defence.  The  north  part  of  region  VII  was  the  collis  hortulo- 
rum,2  or  mons  Pincius,  as  it  was  afterward  called  from  the  gens 
Pincia  which  dwelt  there.3  Down  to  the  third  century  it  is 
probable  that  only  the  south  part  of  this  region  was  built  up, 
but  that  part  was  thickly  inhabited.4 

Between  the  via  Lata  and  the  eastern  limits  of  the  region, 
where  the  via  Salaria  vetus  ran  north  to  the  porta  Pinciana, 
there  must  have  been  several  cross-streets  like  those  north  and 
south  of  the  campus  Agrippae,  but  none  of  these  have  been 
identified. 

i  OIL.  vi.  31538  a.  2  Suet.  Nero,  50. 

8  OIL.  vi.  1754;  Cassiod.  Far.  Hi.  10;  Mitt.  1889,  269-270. 
4  Jul.  Cap.  Vit.  Gord.  32;  Not.  Reg.  vii;  Richter,  Top:1  260;  Gilbert,  III. 
373-374. 

475 


476  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   EOME. 

Temples  and  Shrines. —  We  know  very  little  of  temples  in 
this  region,  and  probably  they  were  few  in  number.  The  most 
important  was  the  great  temple  of  the  Sun,  templum  Solis 
Aureliani,  built  by  Aurelian  after  his  return  from  the  east  in 
273  A.  D.,  and  famous  for  its  magnificence.1  The  temple  was 
surrounded  with  a  porticus,  in  some  part  of  which  were  stored 
the  vina  JiscaUa,  which  had  been  brought  from  the  Ciconiae 
(p.  342).2  This  temple  is  mentioned  in  the  fourth  century  as 
being  in  campo  Agrippae.3  By  some  it  has  been  identified  with 
the  ruins 4  in  the  gardens  of  the  palazzo  Colonna  (p.  492)  ;  by 
others 5  it  is  placed  in  the  area  bounded  by  the  Corso,  the 
via  Claudio,  and  the  via  Frattina,  all  of  which  correspond  to 
ancient  streets.  Here  have  been  found  peperino  walls,  granite 
columns,  and  architectural  remains,  and  drawings  of  the  six- 
teenth century  represent  here  a  structure  which  the  supporters 
of  this  view  assert  to  be  a  temple.  These  plans  show  two 
adjacent  inclosures,  one  with  curved  ends,  90.50  metres  in 
length  and  42.70  in  width,  and  the  other  rectangular,  126 
metres  long  and  86.38  wide.  Without  further  discussion  it 
may  be  said  that  there  is  insufficient  evidence  for  the  hypoth- 
esis that  these  plans  and  ruins  belong  to  a  temple,  and  there- 
fore the  site  of  the  temple  of  the  Sun  must  be  sought  for 
elsewhere,  although  near  the  campus  Agrippae.  It  is  possible 
that  the  ruins  just  described  may  belong  to  porticoes  in  the 
horti  Largiani,6  which  are  said  to  have  been  in  this  region. 

The  Kegionary  Catalogue  mentions  templa  duo  nova  Spei  et 
Portunae,7  but  nothing  further  is  known  of  them.  An  inscrip- 
tion 8  belonging  to  a  sacellum  Silvani  was  found  on  the  Pincian 

1  Vop.  Vit.  Aw.  1,  10,  25,  28,  35,  39;  Vit.  Tac.  9;  Anr.  Viet.   Caes.  35; 
Eutrop.  ix.  15. 

2  Vop.  Vit.  Aur.  48;  cf.  VIL.  vi.  1785. 

3  Chronogr.  a.  354,  p.  148.  *  BC.  1894,  297-304 ;  1895,  94-101. 

6  Mitt.  1888,  98;  RhM.  1894,  393-396;  BC.  1895,  39-59;  Jordan,  I.  3.  453- 
456;  NS.  1908,  231-233. 

6  Not.  Reg.  vii.  7  Jordan,  II.  7-8. 

»  OIL.  vi.  623;  Bull.  d.  1st.  1868,  119. 


VIA   LATA   AND   PINCIAN    HILL  — REGION   VII.        477 

in  the  horti  Aciliorum.  In  1794  the  foundation  of  the  portions 
of  an  octostyle  temple  *  fronting  on  the  via  Lata,  and  also  a 
portion  of  the  cella  wall,  were  found  at  the  corner  of  the  Corso 
and  the  via  Condotti.  The  columns  were  of  red  granite,  and 
the  bases,  steps,  and  capitals  of  marble.  No  clew  exists  for 
the  identification  of  this  temple,  and  the  same  is  true  of  other 
ruins  2  not  far  distant,  which  may  belong  to  a  temple.  These 
lie  beneath  the  church  of  S.  Giovannino  in  Capite,  at  the  cor- 
ner of  the  via  della  Mercede  and  the  via  del  Moretto,  and  are 
the  remains  of  travertine  walls,  10  and  6  metres  long,  which 
form  the  sides  of  the  northwest  corner  of  some  building  in 
which  a  sanctuary  of  Mithras  had  been  established  in  the 
fourth  century. 

Other  Buildings.  —  The  building  activity  displayed  by 
Agrippa  in  the  campus  Martius  extended  across  the  via  Lata, 
and  the  campus  Agrippae,3  laid  out  by  Agrippa  and  finished  and 
dedicated  by  Augustus  in  7  B.C.,  was  the  topographical  centre 
of  the  region.  This  campus,  which  was  a  beautiful  park  and 
a  favorite  promenade  of  the  Romans,  extended  from  the  line 
of  the  aqua  Virgo  on  the  south  at  least  as  far  as  the  via  Claudio 
on  the  north,  and  from  the  via  Lata  to  the  slope  of  the  Quirinal, 
although  its  boundary  on  the  east  is  quite  uncertain.  The 
west  side  of  the  campus  was  occupied  by  the  porticus  Vipsania 
or  Polae,  named  from  the  sister  of  Agrippa,  by  whom  it  had 
been  commenced.4  It  was  finished  and  opened  by  Augustus. 
This  porticus5  extended  along  the  via  Lata  from  a  point  not 
very  far  from  the  north  end  of  the  Saepta,  of  which  it  formed 
a  practical  continuation,  although  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
street.  It  also  resembled  the  Saepta  closely  in  size  and  con- 

i  BC.  1894,  292-293.  2  BC.  1894,  293-296. 

3DioCass.lv.  8;   Gilbert,  III.  245-247. 

*  Tac.  Hist.  i.  31 ;  Mart.  i.  108.  3 ;  iv.  18.  1 ;  Plut.  Galba,  25 ;  PI.  NH.  iii.  17 ; 
Dio  Cass.  loc.  cit. 

6  BC.  1887, 146-148;  1892,  275-279;  1895,  46-48. 


478  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

struction  (p.  384).  In  it  was  a  map  of  the  world1  prepared 
by  order  of  Agrippa.  The  portions  appears  to  have  undergone 
changes  in  later  times,  as  part  of  the  remains  date  from  the 
Flavian  emperors,  and  in  the  second  century  the  intercolumnar 
spaces  were  closed  up  with  brick-faced  walls,  thus  making 
rows  of  separate  chambers.  The  edifice  existed  in  the  fourth 
century,  when  it  is  mentioned  by  the  corrupted  name  of 
porticus  Gypsiani.2  At  various  points  in  the  area  covered  by  the 
porticus  remains  have  been  found  of  semicircular  arches  with 
travertine  pillars  and  pilasters  with  Doric  capitals,  and  of  a 
travertine  pavement  and  cipollino  columns  with  Corinthian 
capitals. 

In  the  Regionary  Catalogue,  in  connection  with  the  porticus 
Gypsiani,  is  mentioned  a  porticus  Oonstantini,3  but  nothing  fur- 
ther is  known  about  it  and  there  are  no  indications  as  to  its 
exact  location.  It  is  possible  that  this  was  the  name  given  to 
part  of  the  porticus  surrounding  the  static  cohortis  I  vigilum 
(see  below). 

In  documents4  of  the  fourth  century  mention  is  also  made  of 
certain  castra  as  in  campo  Agrippae,  which  must  refer  to  the 
castra  TTrbana,  or  barracks  of  the  cohortes  urbanae.  Near  these 
barracks  was  the  forum  Suarium,5  or  pork  market.  The  trade 
in  pork  seems  to  have  become  even  more  important  under  the 
empire  than  in  earlier  times,  and  there  are  indications  that  the 
superintendence  of  this  market  was  in  the  hands  of  an  officer 
of  the  cohortes  urbanae.  The  site  of  the  castra  and  of  the 
forum  Suarium  was  probably  north  of  the  campus  Agrippae, 
between  it  and  the  horti  Lucullani. 

Between  the  Saepta  and  the  base  of  the  Quirinal  the  remains 
of  an  extensive  structure  were  found  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 


i  PI.  NH.  iii.  17.  2  Not.  Reg.  vii. 

8  BC.  1887,  146;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1858,  279;  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  474-475;  Gilbert, 
III.  252. 

*  Not.  Reg.  vii ;  C'hronogr,  a.  354,  p.  148. 

5  Not.  Reg.  vii ;  OIL.  vi.  1156,  3728,  9631 ;  BC.  1895, 48-49;  Gilbert,  III.  199. 


VIA   LATA   AND   PINCIAN   HILL  — REGION   VII.         479 

tury.  This  is  represented  on  the  Marble  Plan,1  and  was  the 
static  cohortis  I  vigilum 2  as  well  as  the  headquarters  of  the 
praefectus  vigilum.  It  was  a  rectangular  building,  with  its 
main  axis  extending  due  north  and  south  at  an  angle  of  18° 
with  the  via  Lata,  and  divided  into  three  parts,  each  of  which 
consisted  of  a  central  court  surrounded  by  a  porticus  and  rows 
of  chambers.  Some  of  these  rooms  showed  signs  of  having 
been  luxuriously  furnished  and  decorated.  The  entire  area  is 
now  covered  with  modern  buildings. 

Arches.  —  There  were  at  least  four  arches  erected  on  the 
via  Lata  which  belonged  to  region  VII.  Just  north  of  the 
Saepta  the  via  Lata  was  crossed  by  the  aqua  Virgo,  and  here 
Claudius  built  a  triumphal  arch,  the  arcus  Olaudii,3  in  commem- 
oration of  his  victories  in  Britain  in  51-52  A.D.  The  arch 
formed  part  of  the  aqueduct,  and  seems  to  have  been  in  ruins 
as  early  as  the  eighth  century.  Coins4  of  the  period  represent 
an  arch  commemorating  these  victories  of  Claudius,  which  is 
surmounted  by  an  equestrian  statue  and  trophies.  Portions  of 
the  travertine  foundations  and  inscriptions 5  dedicated  to  other 
members  of  the  imperial  family  have  been  found,  together  with 
some  fragments  of  sculpture  of  which  all  traces  have  been  lost.6 

Farther  north  and  close  to  the  ara  Pacis  was  an  arch  over 
the  via  Flaminia,  the  arcus  Hadriani,7  which  stood  until  1662, 
when  it  was  removed  by  Alexander  VII  in  order  that  the  Corso 
might  be  widened.  The  foundation  of  one  of  the  piers  has 
been  found  beneath  the  palazzo  Fiano,  2.34  metres  below  the 
level  of  the  Corso.  From  the  sixteenth  century  it  bore  the 

1  Jordan,  FUR.  36. 

2  CIL.  vi.  233,  1056,  1092;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1858,  267-278;  BC.  1894,  287-291; 
Gilbert,  III.  196;  Jordan,  I.  1.  308;  3.  461. 

«  CIL.  vi.920;  Jordan,  I.  3.  468-469;  II.  418;  Gilbert,  HI.  190;  BC.  1878, 
14-21 ;  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  478. 

<  Cohen;  Claud.  16.  «  CIL.  vi.  921-923.  «  PBS.  iii.  215-223. 

f  BC.  1891,  18-23;  1896,  239-246;  Mitt.  1892,  315;  1893,304;  Jordan,  1.3. 
465-167. 


480  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT   ROME. 

name  of  arco  di  Portogallo.  Two  of  the  reliefs l  from  this  arch 
have  been  found,  and  are  now  in  the  palazzo  dei  Conservator!. 
They  belong  to  the  period  of  Hadrian,  and  the  arch  itself  is 
usually  ascribed  to  that  emperor;  but  descriptions  written 
before  its  destruction  seem  to  lend  some  support  to  the  view 
that  the  structure  itself  was  of  late  date,  perhaps  even  later 
than  Constantine,  and  that  it  was  adorned  with  sculpture  from 
much  earlier  buildings.  One  of  the  reliefs  represents  the 
apotheosis  of  an  empress,  either  Plotina  the  wife  of  Trajan  or 
Sabina  the  wife  of  Hadrian. 

The  arcus  Diocletiani  (Novus) 2  spanned  the  via  Lata  south  of 
the  arcus  Claudii  and  directly  in  front  of  the  modern  church 
of  S.  Maria  in  via  Lata.  It  was  probably  built  by  Diocletian 
and  Maximian  in  301  A.D.,  and  stood  until  the  time  of  Inno- 
cent VIII  (1488-1492).  The  fragments  of  a  relief 3  found  near 
this  site  and  now  preserved  in  the  villa  Medici,  which  repre- 
sent triumphal  scenes,  probably  belonged  to  this  arch. 

In  the  Mirabilia  mention  is  made  of  an  arcus  Manus  Oarneae,4 
near  the  church  of  S.  Marco.  Kecently  a  very  clever  attempt 
has  been  made  to  identify  this  arch  with  that  represented  on 
one  of  the  reliefs  in  the  palazzo  dei  Conservator!  which  pic- 
tures the  entry  of  Marcus  Aurelius  into  Rome,  and  to  ascribe 
its  erection  to  Domitian. 

In  the  gardens  of  the  house,  No.  12  via  del  Nazareno,  is 
another  arch  in  the  line  of  the  aqua  Virgo,  which  spanned  an 
ancient  street,  and  is  also  called  arcus  Olaudii.5 

Horti.  —  The  horti  Lucullani,  laid  out  by  L.  Licinius  Lucullus6 

about  60  B.C.,  were  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  Pincian,  for 
. 

1  Helbig,  Fiihrer  durch  die  Mmeen  Roms,  2d  ed.  564,  565;   Strong,  Sculpt- 
ure, 236-238;  PBS.  iv.  258-263;  v.  180. 

2  BC.  1895,  46 ;  Jordan,  I.  3. 469-470 ;  II.  7,  102,  417. 

«  Matz-Duhn,  Antike  Bildwerke,  3525;  OIL.  vi.  31383;  PBS.  iii.  271. 
*  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  550;  PBS.  iii.  259-261,  269-271. 
6  GIL.  vi.  1252;  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  455. 

«  Front,  de  Aq.  22;  Tac.  Ann.  xi.  1,  32,  37;  Plut.  Lucull.  39;  Gilbert,  III. 
377;  5(7.1891,  153-155. 


VIA   LATA   AND   PINCIAN   HILL  — REGION   VII.         481 

the  most  part  between  the  modern  via  del  Tritone,  the  via  due 
Macelli,  and  the  via  di  Porta  Pinciana.  In  46  A.D.  they  be- 
longed to  Valerius  Asiaticus,  but  were  coveted  by  Messalina, 
who  compelled  the  owner  to  commit  suicide.  After  that  time 
the  gardens  belonged  to  the  imperial  family.  They  contained 
a  palace  and  the  usual  porticoes,  libraries,  and  similar  build- 
ings, of  which  only  the  most  meagre  traces  now  remain  — 
some  walls  and  bases  of  columns  in  the  via  Sistina  and  the  via 
due  Macelli,  mosaic  pavement  in  the  via  Gregoriana  (No.  46), 
etc. 

The  northern  and  highest  part  of  the  Pincian  was  occupied 
by  the  horti  Aciliorum,1  which  extended  from  the  church  of 
S.  Trinita  dei  Monti  beyond  the  slopes  of  the  hill  into  the 
grounds  of  the  villa  Borghese,  and  on  the  east  probably  as  far 
as  the  porta  Pinciana.  We  do  not  know  the  precise  date  when 
they  were  laid  out,  but  they  belonged  to  the  Acilii  Glabriones 
as  early  as  the  first  century,  and  in  the  fourth  to  Petronius 
Probus,  being  one  of  the  few  gardens  which  had  not  then  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  emperors.  They  were  inclosed  on  the 
north,  west,  and  east  by  supporting  walls  and  terraces,  built 
along  the  slope  of  the  hill.  This  wall  on  the  east  and  north 
was  utilized  by  Aurelian  in  his  line  of  defence,  part  of  it  being 
rebuilt,  but  a  considerable  portion  on  each  side  of  the  extreme 
northeast  angle  was  left  in  its  original  form.  Even  these  sub- 
structures have  been  somewhat  altered  in  modern  times  by 
additional  buttresses,  but  their  original  construction  can  be 
seen.  The  wall  is  built  of  opus  reticulatum,  in  a  series  of 
lofty  arcades  with  massive  intervening  piers.  On  the  west  side 
of  the  hill  there  were  two  lines  of  terraces,  supported  by  walls, 
of  which  nothing  but  the  slightest  traces  remain.  Just  north  of 
S.  Trinita  the  ruins  of  a  great  hemicycle  have  been  found,  which 
opened  toward  the  west,  and  from  which  nights  of  steps  led 
down  to  the  plain  below.  Beneath  the  modern  casino  is  a 

i  CIL.  vi.  623;  BC.  1891,  132-155. 


482  TOPOGRAPflY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

piscina,  divided  into  two  sections  and  connected  with  a  reser- 
voir by  tunnels  80  metres  long.  This  reservoir  is  formed  of 
galleries  cut  in  the  rock,  about  2  metres  wide  and  a  little  more 
than  2  metres  high,  which  intersect  each  other  at  right  angles. 
East  of  the  hemicycle,  near  the  sharp  angle  in  the  Aurelian 
wall,  is  a  mound  called  II  Parnasso  or  Belvedere  di  villa  Medici, 
built  on  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  octagonal  structure,  once 
thought  to  be  a  temple,  but  really  a  nymphaeum  belonging  to 
the  extensive  water  works  of  the  gardens.  The  buildings  of 
the  palace  and  its  various  annexes  extended  along  the  west 
brow  of  the  hill,  from  the  villa  Medici  to  S.  Maria  del  Popolo, 
where  their  ruins  were  discovered  in  1812.  Under  the  north 
slope  of  the  hill,  near  S.  Maria  del  Popolo  and  also  near  S.  Tri- 
nita,  wine  cellars,  excavated  in  the  rock  and  containing  rows 
of  amphorae,  have  been  found. 

The  horti  Pompei 1  seem  to  have  been  either  at  the  foot  of 
this  hill  or  to  have  extended  up  its  western  slope.  On  the 
northwestern  slope  was  the  monumentum  Domitiorum,2  or  family 
tomb  of  the  Domitii,  in  which  Nero's  ashes  were  placed,  and  it 
is  probable  that  this  tomb  stood  in  a  park  belonging  to  the 
Domitii. 

Of  the  other  monuments  in  this  region  mentioned  in  the 
Notitia — the  lacus  Ganymedis,  nymphaeum  lovis,3  aedicula  Oapra- 
ria,4  equi  Tiridatis  regis  Armeniorum,  Mansuetae,  and  lapis  pertusus 
—  nothing  is  known. 

Tombs.  —  There  were  tombs  on  the  via  Flaminia,  at  points 
which  marked  the  successive  limits  of  the  city.  The  oldest  is 
the  sepulchrum  Bibuli,5  at  the  base  of  the  Capitoline  close  to  the 
approach  to  the  monument  of  Vittorio  Emanuele.  This  tomb 
was  just  outside  the  porta  Fontinalis,  and  was  erected  in  the 
last  century  of  the  republic  by  decree  of  the  senate,  in  honor 

*  Plut.  Pomp.  44;  CIL.  vi.  6299;  cf.  Asc.  in  Mil.  67;  Jordan,  I.  3.  492. 
'  2  Suet.  Nero,  50.  <  Gilbert,  III.  377. 

8  BC.  1887,  144-145.  «  CIL.  vi.  13f9;  Jordan,  I.  1.  207. 


VIA   LATA   AND   PINCIAN   HILL  — REGION   VII.         483 

of  C.  Publicius  Bibulus,  a  plebeian  aedile.  The  faqade  is  of 
travertine,  with  a  massive  base  supporting  four  Tuscan  pilas- 
ters with  an  entablature.  The  frieze  is  decorated  with  reliefs 
of  garlands,  rosettes,  and  ox-skulls.  Between  the  pilasters 
were  windows,  and  the  inscription  is  on  the  dado. 

The  tombs  of  the  later  period  begin  at  the  piazza  del  Popolo 
and  extend  beyond  the  porta  Flaminia.1  The  foundations  of 
two  of  them,  which  seem  to  be  as  early  as  the  end  of  the  repub- 
lic, have  been  found  beneath  the  churches  of  S.  Maria  dei 
Miracoli  and  S.  Maria  in  Montesanto,  at  the  very  end  of  the 
Corso.  Immediately  outside  the  porta  del  Popolo  were  the 
tombs  of  the  gens  Gallonia 2  and  of  L.  Nonius  Asprenas,3  consul  in 
29  A.D.  ;  of  the  gens  Benina  and  of  Publius  Aelius  Gutta  Galpurni- 
anus,4  a  celebrated  charioteer  of  the  time  of  Hadrian  or  the 
Antonines. 

Private  Houses.  —  Few  inscriptions  relating  to  private  houses 
have  been  found  in  this  district,  but  there  is  epigraphic  evidence 
for  the  existence  of  a  domus  Postumiorum 5  on  the  Pincian,  be- 
tween the  horti  Lucullani  and  the  horti  Aciliorum,  and  of  a 
house  belonging  to  a  certain  T.  Sextius  Af  ricanus, 6  in  the  via 
del  Babuino,  at  the  corner  of  the  via  del  Gesu  Maria.  Two  in- 
scriptions 7  on  the  collars  worn  by  slaves  mention  a  physician 
Gemellinus  and  a  certain  Flavius  in  the  via  Lata.  M.  Messala 
Corvinus 8  also  had  a  park  or  house  on  this  hill. 

1  BC.  1877, 184-195;  1880,  169-182;  1881, 174-188.  *  CIL.  vi.  10047. 

2  CIL.  vi.  31714.  5  RhM.  1894,  390. 
»  CIL.  vi.  31689.  6  Gilbert,  III.  375. 
i  Ricbter,  Top*  260;  CIL.  xv.  7186,  7187. 

»  CIL.  vi.  29789;  BC.  1889,  208. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   QUIRINAL  AND   THE  VIMINAL.     REGION  VI. 

THIS  region,  lying  between  the  imperial  fora,  the  east  bound- 
ary of  region  VII,  and  the  northwest  boundary  of  region  IV, 
comprised  the  Viminal,  the  Quirinal,  the  valley  between  the 
Quirinal  and  the  Pincian,  and  the  lower  slope  of  the  latter  hill. 
The  different  divisions  of  the  Quiriual,  the  earliest  name  for 
which  is  said  to  have  been  Agonus  or  Agonius,1  have  been 
described  on  page  16,  and  the  corresponding  gates  in  the 
Servian  wall  on  page  49.  The  region  took  its  name  from  its 
principal  street,  the  Alta  Semita,  which  ran  northwest  along  the 
ridge  of  the  Quirinal  to  the  porta  Collina.  This  street  corre- 
sponded exactly  with  the  modern  via  del  Quirinale  and  via 
Venti  Settembre  from  the  piazza  del  Quirinale  east,  and  the 
ancient  pavement  lies  at  an  average  depth  of  1.83  metres  below 
the  present  level.2  Beyond  the  junction  of  the  vicus  Longus, 
this  street  was  probably  called  the  vicus  portae  Oollinae.3 

The  second  most  important  street  in  the  region  was  the 
vicus  Longus,4  which  traversed  the  valley  between  the  Quirinal 
and  the  Viminal,  and  joined  the  Alta  Semita  inside  the  porta 
Collina,  very  near  where  the  via  Quintino  Sella  runs  into  the 
via  Venti  Settembre.  The  pavement  of  the  vicus  Longus  has 
been  found  on  a  line  that  crosses  the  via  Nazionale  at  an  angle 
of  20°  near  the  Banca  d'ltalia,  at  various  points  between  the 
bank  and  the  baths  of  Diocletian,  a  distance  of  one  kilometre. 

1  Fest.  Epit.  10,  254. 

2  BC.  1889,  332;  RhM.  1894,  387;  Gilbert,  III.  368. 
8  CIL.  vi.  450. 

*  Fest.  237;  Liv.  x.  23;  Val.  Max.  ii.  5.  6;  CIL.  vi.  9736,  10023;  RhM.  1894, 
382-384;  Gilbert,  III.  368. 

484 


QUIRINAL   AND   VIMINAL  — REGION   VI.  485 

A  considerable  part  of  the  northeast  section  of  this  street  was 
destroyed  by  the  erection  of  these  baths. 

A  third  street,  running  in  the  same  general  direction,  was 
the  vicus  collis  Viminalis,1  which  extended  along  the  ridge  of 
the  Viminal  to  the  porta  Viminalis.  It  is  not  represented 
by  any  modern  street,  but  its  pavement  has  been  found  along 
a  line  from  the  via  Napoli  through  the  porta  Chiusa  to  the 
porta  Viminalis. 

The  practical  continuation  of  the  Alta  Semita  from  the  south 
end  of  the  Quirinal  ridge  down  to  the  imperial  fora  was  the 
vicus  laci  Fundani,2  which  seems  to  have  corresponded  'in  gen- 
eral with  the  present  via  del  Quirinale.  It  derived  its  name 
from  the  lacus  Fundani,3  a  fountain  which  could  not  have  been 
far  from  the  Cati  fons  (p.  19).  Near  the  lacus  Fundani  was 
probably  the  temple  of  Hercules  Fundanius.4 

Communication  between  the  Alta  Semita  and  the  vicus 
Longus  was  effected  by  three  cross-streets, —  the  clivus  Salutis 
or  Salutaris,  the  clivus  Mamuri,  and  a  street  called  ad  Malum 
Punicum.  The  first  of  these 5  derived  its  name  from  the  hill 
on  which  it  was,  the  collis  Salutaris,  and  corresponded  in  gen- 
eral with  the  via  della  Consulta.  Its  pavement6  has  been 
found  at  a  depth  of  18  metres  below  the  new  public  gardens, 
at  the  corner  of  the  via  della  Consulta  and  the  via  Venti  Set- 
tembre,  and  at  the  lower  end  under  the  Banca  d'  Italia.  The 
clivus  Mamuri,7  named  from  the  statua  Mamuri,8  was  probably 
just  east  of  S.  Vitale  and  S.  Andrea  di  Monte  Cavallo.  The 
third  street,  ad  Malum  Funicum,9  probably  corresponded  with 
the  via  delle  Quattro  Fontane.  The  vicus  Insteius  or  Insteianus,10 

1  OIL.  vi.  2227-2228 :  BC.  1874, 199. 

2  GIL.  vi.  1297 ;  RhM.  1894,  401-403. 

«  Tac.  Hist.  Hi.  69;  Placidus,  p.  29;  CIL.  vi.  9854. 
4  CIL.  vi.  311 ;  Vep.  Vit.  Tac.  17. 

6  Symm.  Epist.  v.  54 ;  BC.  1889,  387 ;  1890,  11 ;  RhM.  1894,  405. 
«  BC.  1886,  187.       7  RhM.  1894,  405,  417.      »  yot.  Reg.  vi ;  Gilbert,  III.  370. 
»  Suet.  Dom.  1 ;  RhM.  1894, 399,  401 ;  BC.  1889,  383. 
1°  Varro,  LL.  v.  52 ;  Liv.  mv.  10. 


486  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME.  ' 

mentioned  in  the  description  of  the  Argei,  seems  to  have  as- 
cended the  hill  near  the  porta  Fontinalis,  but  to  have  been  de- 
stroyed by  the  building  of  the  imperial  fora.  The  street  called 
ad  Tonsores  1  was  near  the  temple  of  Flora,  and  its  position  is 
therefore  dependent  upon  the  site  assigned  to  that  edifice 
(p.  489).  Another  street,  ad  Tres  Fortunas,2  was  evidently  near 
those  temples  (p.  490)  and  may  possibly  be  identified  with  an 
ancient  street  running  south  from  the  campus  Sceleratus, 
nearly  parallel  to  the  Servian  agger,  on  which  remains  of 
houses  have  been  found. 

The  principal  open  space  in  this  region  was  between  the 
castra  Praetoria  and  the  Servian  agger,  north  of  the  vicus  collis 
Viminalis.  A  large  part  of  this  area  was  afterward  used  as 
a  drill  ground  by  the  praetorian  cohorts,  and  was  perhaps  called 
the  campus  cohortium  Praetor iarum.3  The  campus  Sceleratus 4  was 
an  open  area,  immediately  inside  the  Servian  wall  southwest 
of  the  porta  Collina,  where  Vestal  Virgins  who  had  broken 
their  vow  of  chastity  were  buried  alive. 

Two  names  occur  in  the  Eegionary  Catalogue,  probably  of 
buildings,  but  which  also  designated  localities,  perhaps  open 
squares.  These  were  the  Gallinae  Albae  and  the  Decem  Tabernae,5 
the  latter  plainly  a  sort  of  bazaar.  Both  were  on  the  south 
part  of  the  Viminal,  in  the  vicinity  of  S.  Lorenzo  in  Panisperna. 
Of  the  area  Oandidi  mentioned  in  the  Notitia,  nothing  is  known, 
but  it  is  conjecturally  placed  near  S.  Pudenziana.6 

Temples  and  Shrines.  —  There  were  many  places  of  worship 
on  the  Quirinal,  as  was  to  be  expected  from  its  early  settle- 
ment. Before  the  great  temple  was  built  on  the  Capitoline  to 
Jupiter,  Juno,  and  Minerva,  there  was  a  temple  on  the  Quiri- 
nal dedicated  to  these  same  gods  and  called  the  Capitolium, 


1  Mitt.  1891,  341;  SO.  1893,  187;  OIL.  xv.  7172. 

2  Jordan,  I.  3.  382.  8  Tac.  Ann.  xii.  36 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  384. 
4  Serv.  ad  Aen.  xi.  206;  Liv.  viii.  15;  Dionys.  ii.  67;  Plut.  Numa,  10. 

*  Not,  Reg.  vi ;  RhM.  1894,  417 ;  Mitt.  1892,  307.  «  RhM.  loc.  cit. 


QUIRINAL  AND   VIMINAL  —  REGION  VI.  487 

but  known  in  historical  times  as  the  Gapitolium  vetus l  or  anti- 
quum,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  other.  We  know  nothing  of 
the  history  of  the  temple  building,  except  that  it  existed 
throughout  the  empire.  The  discovery  of  dedicatory  inscrip- 
tions,2 placed  in  the  temple  by  certain  cities  of  Asia  Minor 
during  the  Mithradatic  wars,  and  other  known  facts  in  the 
topography  of  the  Quirinal,  make  it  certain  that  it  stood  north 
of  the  Alta  Semita,  but  whether  west  or  east  of  the  modern 
via  delle  Quattro  Fontane  is  uncertain.3  Besides  its  Capitolium, 
the  original  Quirinal  settlement  possessed  an  Auguraculum 4  on 
the  south  point  of  the  hill,  the  collis  Latiaris,  which  corre- 
sponded t*the  auguraculum  on  the  Arx  of  the  Capitoline. 

A  second  very  ancient  temple  on  the  Quirinal  was  that  of 
the  Sabine  deity,  Semo  Sancus  or  Dius  Fidius.5  Tradition  as- 
cribed the  building  of  this  temple  to  Titus  Tatius,  and  it  was 
said  to  have  contained  such  ancient  documents  as  the  treaty 
with  Gabii,  and  the  household  implements  of  Tanaquil.  Ac- 
cording to  another  form  of  the  tradition,6  it  was  built  by  Tar- 
quinius  Superbus,  and  dedicated  by  Sp.  Postumius  in  466  B.C. 
Possibly  an  earlier  edifice  was  only  restored  by  Postumius. 
The  temple  undoubtedly  stood  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  just 
north  of  the  porta  Sanqualis,7  between  the  sharp  turn  of  the 
via  Nazionale  and  the  via  del  Quirinale,  where  inscriptions  8 
have  been  found,  and  three  fragments  of  concrete  foundations 
which  may  possibly  have  belonged  to  it. 


i  Varro,  LL.  v.  158;  Mart.  v.  22;  vii.  73;  Gilbert,  II.  84-89;  III.  371 ;  Jor- 
dan, I.  3.  411. 

a  CIL.  vi.  373,  374,  30920-30924,  30927 ;  DC.  1887,  251. 

»  RhM.  1884,  408-409 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  395. 

4  Varro,  LL.  v.  52;  Jordan,  II.  264;  Gilbert,  I.  274. 

6  Tertull.  ad  Nat.  ii.  9;  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  213-218;  Dionys.  iv.  58;  PL  NH.  viii. 
194 ;  Gilbert,  I.  275-280 ;  III.  370-371 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  400-402. 

6  Dionys.  ix.  60. 

i  Fest.  345;  Liv.  viii.  20;  RhM.  1894,  409;  BC.  1881,  5;  1887,  8;  Mitt.  1889, 
274. 

8  CIL.  vi.  568,  309&4. 


488  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  HOME. 

The  temple  of  Quirhms  represented  perhaps  the  oldest  cult  in 
this  part  of  the  city.  Its  establishment1  was  ascribed  to  Numa, 
and  the  name  was  said  to  have  been  given  to  the  porta  Quirina- 
lis,  and  presumably  to  the  hill  itself,  because  of  a  shrine  of 
Quirinus  which  was  near  the  gate.  The  builder  of  the  actual 
temple  of  Quirinus  is  said  to  have  been  L.  Papirius  Cursor,2  in 
293  B.C.,  although  an  assembly  of  the  senate  is  said  to  have 
been  held  in  this  temple  in  453  B.C.  In  206  B.C.3  the  temple 
was  injured  by  lightning,  and  it  was  burned  in  49  B.C.,  but 
soon  rebuilt.*  A  final  restoration  was  completed  by  Augustus 
in  16  B.C.,5  and  this  structure  lasted  at  least  as  long  as  the 
empire.  It  is  described6  as  being  dipteral,  octostyle,  with  a 
pronaos  and  a  porch  in  the  rear.  It  had  seventy-six  columns 
in  all,  two  rows  of  fifteen  each  on  the  sides  and  a  double  row 
of  eight  at  each  end,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  porticus.7 
Augustus's  restoration  occupied  the  site  of  the  temple  of 
Papirius,  and  this  has  been  determined,  by  the  finding  of  in- 
scriptions,8 to  be  north  of  the  Alta  Semita,  but  whether  in  the 
very  centre  of  the  royal  gardens  or  in  their  eastern  part  is  a 
disputed  point.  It  is  also  uncertain  whether  or  not  this  temple 
stood  on  the  site  of  the  original  sacellum  Quirini,9  which  was 
near  the  porta  Quirinalis.  Next  to  his  temple  Papirius  set  up 
the  first  solarium  horologium 10  in  Rome,  and  just  west  of  it  was 
the  pulvinar  Solis,  a  shrine  dedicated  to  the  sun.11  Little  is 
known  of  this,  except  that  it  was  in  existence  during  the  first 
centuries  before  and  after  Christ. 

The  worship  of  Salus 12  existed  at  a  very  early  date  on  the 

1  Cic.  de  Legg.  i.  3 ;  Dionys.  ii.  63 ;  Fest.  254 ;  Varro,  LL.  v.  51 ;  Gilbert,  I. 
280;  HI.  370;  OIL.  P.  pp.  310,  320;  Hermes,  1891,  137-144.  . 

2  Liv.  iv.  21 ;  x.  46 ;  Ov.  Fast.  ii.  511 ;  vi.  795-796.  «  Liv.  xxviii.  11. 
4  Dio  Cass.  xli.  14;  xliii.  45.               8  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  5;  Dio  Cass.  liv.  19. 
«  Vitr.  Hi.  2.  7.                                      *  Mart.  xi.  1.  9. 

«  BO.  1889,  336-339,  379-391 ;  RhM.  1894,  405-406;  Jordan,  I.  3.  409-410. 

»  PI.  NH.  xv.  120;  Fest.  255;  Hermes,  1891, 139;  Mitt.  1891,  119. 
w  PL  NH.  vii.  213.  u  Quint,  i.  7. 12. 

12  Liv.  ix.  43;  x.  1 ;  xxviii.  11 ;  Gilbert,  III.  371. 


QUIRINAL  AND   VIMINAL  — REGION  VI.  489 

Quirinal,  one  part  of  which,  the  collis  Salutaris,  derived  its 
name  from  this  cult.  Some  shrine  must  therefore  have  stood 
here  in  earlier  times,  although  Roman  historians  state  that  the 
temple  was  vowed  in  311  and  dedicated  in  303  B.C.  by  C.  Junius 
Bubulcus.  It  was  famous  for  the  paintings 1  by  Fabius  Pictor 
with  which  it  was  adorned,  and  although  the  edifice  was  in- 
jured by  lightning  in  276  and  in  206  B.C.,  the  paintings  were 
preserved  until  it  was  burned  in  the  reign  of  Claudius.  The 
temple  was  restored  and  was  in  existence  in  the  fourth  cen- 
tury. No  traces  of  the  building  have  come  to  light,  but  it  was 
near  the  temple  of  Quirinus  and  the  house  of  Atticus  (p.  503), 
and  probably  on  or  near  the  clivus  Salutis.2  Therefore,  of  the 
two  conjectural  sites,  one  just  east  of  the  via  delle  Quattro 
Fontane  and  the  other  at  the  west  end  of  the  royal  palace,  the 
latter  is  the  more  probable. 

The  cult  of  Flora  was  of  ancient  Sabine  origin  and  was  estab- 
lished on  the  Quirinal,  where  Titus  Tatius  is  said  to  have 
erected  an  altar.3  Nothing  is  known  of  the  date  of  the  building 
of  the  temple  as  it  existed  in  historical  times,  or  of  its  history, 
except  a  possible  restoration  by  the  younger  Symmachus  in 
the  fourth  century ;  nor  is  its  site  at  all  certain.  We  are  told 
that  a  clivus  led  up  to  the  Capitolium  vetus  from  the  temple  of 
Flora,  and  that  it  was  not  far  from  the  temple  of  Quirinus ;  but 
it  is  claimed  that  two  sites  conform  to  this  statement,  one  out- 
side the  Servian  wall  at  the  foot  of  the  Quirinal,  near  the 
piazza  Barberini,  and  the  other  just  below  the  Capitolium 
vetus,  between  it  and  the  street  ad  Malum  Punicum,  the 
modern  via  delle  Quattro  Fontane.  The  street  on  which  the 
temple  stood  was  called  Pila  Tiburtiua.4 


1  Val.  Max.  viii.  14.  6;  PI.  NH.  xxxv.  19;  BC.  1889,  340;  Helbig,  Fiihrer, 
i2.  421. 

2  Cic.  ad  Alt.  iv.  1 ;  xii.  45 ;  RhM.  1894,  404 ;  BC.  1873,  227. 

8  Varro,  LL.  v.  158 ;  Vitr.  vii.  9. 4 ;  Mart.  v.  22 ;  vi.  27 ;  Gilbert,  1. 287 ;  BC. 
1893,  189;  Bull.  Crist.  1868,  55;  RhM.  1894,  407;  Jordan,  I.  3.  412. 
*  Mart.  v.  22.  3;  RhM.  1894,  397;  Jordan.  I.  3.  426-427. 


490  TOPOGRAPHY   OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

On  the  Quirinal  side  of  the  vicus  Longus  was  a  sacellum 
Pudicitiae  Plebeiae,1  said  to  have  been  built  by  a  certain  Vir- 
ginia of  patrician  birth,  who  had  married  a  plebeian  consul, 
L.  Volumnius,  and  had  therefore  been  excluded  from  partici- 
pation in  the  worship  of  the  goddess  Pudicitia  Patricia  in  the 
forum  Boarium.  The  shrine  certainly  dated  from  the  time  of 
the  struggle  between  the  orders.  At  the  highest  point  of  the 
vicus  Longus  there  was  also  a  temple  of  Febris.2 

Near  the  porta  Collina  were  three  temples  of  Fortuna,  Tres 
fortunae,3  to  which  the  vicus  ad  Tres  Fortunas  (p.  486)  prob- 
ably led.  These  temples  seem  to  have  formed  a  sort  of  cult- 
unit,  although  they  were  built  at  different  times  and  their 
festivals  occurred  on  different  days.  According  to  the  calen- 
dar, one  was  called  the  temple  of  Fortuna  Publica  Citerior,  an- 
other that  of  Fortuna  Primigenia,  and  the  third,  of  Fortuna 
Publica  populi  Romani  Quiritium  Primigenia.  This  last  was 
vowed  in  204  B.C.  by  P.  Sempronius  Sophus  and  dedicated  in 
194  by  QvMarcius  Ralla.  One  of  these  is  mentioned  by  Vitru- 
vius  as  an  illustration  of  a  temple  in  antis.  The  podium  and 
foundations  of  one  of  the  other  two  were  probably  discovered  * 
in  1881-1882,  just  inside  the  Servian  agger,  at  the  corner  of 
the  via  Flavia  and  the  via  di  Servio  Tullio.  Somewhere  on 
the  Quirinal,  but  apparently  without  connection  with  these 
three  temples,  was  an  altar  to  TVXTJ  eucA.7ris.s 

Outside  the  porta  Collina,  and  probably  west  of  the  via 
Salaria,  was  a  temple  of  Venus  Erycina,6  which  was  vowed  in 
184  B.C.  by  the  consul  L.  Porcius  Licinus  during  his  Ligurian 
campaign,  and  dedicated  three  years  later.  It  was  surrounded 

i  Liv.  x.  23.  2  Val.  Max.  ii.  5.  6. 

«  Vitr.  iii.  2.  2 ;  Ov.  Fast,  i  v.  375 ;  v.  729 ;  Liv.  xxix.  36 ;  xxxiv.  53 ;  xliii.  13 ; 
CIL.  V.  pp.  315,  319, 335 ;  vi.  3679,  3681 ;  Gilbert,  III.  372 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  413-414. 

*  BC.  1873,  201-211,  233,  243,  248. 

6  Plut.  de  Fort.  Rom.  10. 

6Qv.  Fast.  iv.  871;  Bern.  Am.  549;  Liv.  xxx.  38;  xl.  34;  Strabo,  vi.  2.  5 
(272) ;  App.  Bell.  Civ.  i.  93;  Gilbert,  III.  91;  Mitt.  1889,  270-275;  1892,  32-80; 
Helbig,  Fiihrer,  ii».  118;  Jordan,  I.  3.  415-416. 


QUIRINAL   AND   VIMINAL  —  REGION  VI.  491 

by  a  portions,  and  lasted  as  long  as  the  empire.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  this  temple  may  possibly  be  identified  with  that 
of  Venus  hortorum  Sallustianorum  (p.  502). 

Near  the  temple  of  Venus  Erycina  was  the  temple  of  Honos, 
of  which  nothing  is  known  except  that  it  dated  from  republican 
times,  and  that  its  erection  necessitated  the  removal  of  numer- 
ous tombs.1  The  discovery  of  an  inscription  from  this  temple 
shows  that  it  stood  a  short  distance  inside  the  agger  of  Servius, 
under  the  east  wing  of  the  Treasury  building. 

A  third  temple  in  this  immediate  neighborhood  outside  the 
porta  Collina  was  that  of  Hercules,2  which  was  built  before  the 
second  Punic  war,  as  Hannibal  is  said  to  have  approached 
the  city  ad  portam  Collinam  usque  ad  Herculis  templum.  There 
are,  however,  no  indications  as  to  its  exact  distance  from  the 
gate.  Somewhere  outside  the  porta  Viminalis  was  a  sacellum 
Deae  Neniae,  but  this  is  mentioned  only  once.3 

Besides  the  temples  already  described,  there  were  two  altars 
in  this  region,  belonging  to  the  republican  period.  One,  the  ara 
lovis  Vimini,4  is  the  only  shrine  known  to  us  on  the  Viminal 
proper.  It  belonged  to  a  very  early  period,  as  it  is  mentioned 
in  connection  with  the  Argei,  and  was  dedicated  to  the  wor- 
ship of  Jupiter  as  tutelary  divinity  of  the  Viminal  hill.  The 
second  altar,  the  ara  Vermini,5  was  found  when  the  debris  of  the 
agger  between  the  porta  Collina  and  the  porta  Viminalis  was 
removed.  It  was  erected  in  the  first  century  B.C.  by  the 
duumvir  A.  Postumius,  in  accordance  with  a  lex  Plaetoria. 
This  altar,  now  in  the  Museo  degli  Orti  Botanici,  is  0.75  metre 
square  and  1.03  metres  high.  In  shape  it  resembles  that  found 
on  the  Palatine  (p.  140),  dedicated  to  an  unknown  deity. 

The   only  temple   in   region  VI  which   is   known   to  have 

1  Cic.  de  Legg.  ii.  58;  CIL.  vi.  3692;  BC.  1873,  229;  Bull.  d.  1st.  1873,  90. 
»  Liv.  xxvi.  10;  Gilbert,  III.  92;  Mitt.  1891, 114;  CIL.  vi.  30899. 
3  Fest.  Epit.  163.  *  Varro,  LL.  v.  51 ;  Fest.  376;  Gilbert,  I.  271. 

5  CIL.  vi.  31057;  BC.  1876,  24-28;  1898,  164-165;  Jahreshefte  d.  oest.  arch. 
Instituts,  1903,  142 ;  Lanciani,  Ancient  Rome,  52. 


492  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   HOME. 

been  erected  during  the  imperial  period  was  that  of  Serapis, 
mentioned  in  the  Regionary  Catalogue.  Sufficient  epigraphic 
evidence1  has  been  found  to  prove  that  Caracalla  built  the 
temple,  but  its  site  is  not  indicated.  It  has  been  identified  by 
some 2  with  the  temple  which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  Colonna 
gardens;  while  others3  think  that  this  latter  edifice  was  the 
famous  temple  of  the  Sun,  which  was  built  by  Aurelian  (p.  476). 
This  latter  hypothesis  is,  however,  untenable. 

Of  the  great  temple  in  the  Colonna  gardens  considerable 
ruins  were  still  standing  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  cen- 
turies, especially  of  one  corner  of  the  front  wall  of  the  cella  and 
of  the  pediment,  which  was  known  as  the  Torre  Mesa,  Torre 
di  Mecenate,  or  Frontispizio  di  Nerone.  Drawings  and  plans 
of  that  time  give  a  fairly  satisfactory  idea  of  the  structure.  It 
stood  on  the  edge  of  the  hill,  on  the  west  side  of  the  present 
via  della  Consulta.  It  extended  due  east  and  west,  and  from 
the  platform  at  the  rear  of  the  cella  a  great  flight  of  steps  led 
down  to  the  valley  some  20  metres  below.  This  flight  was 
curiously  built,  being  divided  into  double  narrow  rows  of  steps 
on  each  side  of  a  central  space.  The  temple  area  was  sur- 
rounded with  a  wall  containing  niches,  but  not  with  the  usual 
porticus.  The  cella  was  built  of  peperino  lined  with  marble, 
and  was  surrounded  by  marble  columns  in  front  and  on  the 
sides.  The  shafts  of  these  columns  were  17.66,  the  capitals 
2.47,  and  the  entablature  4.83  metres  in  height.  The  corner  of 
the  cornice  now  lying  in  the  Colonna  gardens  is  the  largest 
architectural  fragment  in  Eome,  its  dimensions  being  3.70x 
2.80x3.90  metres,  and  its  weight  100  tons.  Another  fragment 
of  the  architrave  and  frieze  measured  5  x  2.50  x  1.60  metres. 
The  material  of  the  steps  was  used  to  build  the  steps  of 
Aracoeli  in  1348. 

In  commemoration  of  the  great  fire  of  Nero,  and  also  incendio- 

1  OIL.  vi.  570-574. 

2  RhM.  1894,  392-396;  EC.  1895,  29  ff. ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  421-423. 
*BC.  1894,285;  1895,81. 


QUIRINAL  AND  VIMINAL  —  REGION  VI.  493 

rum  arcendorum  causa,  Domitian  erected  a  certain  number  of 
altars,  arae  incendii  Neroniani,  on  which  annual  sacrifices  were 
offered  to  Vulcan.  Two  of  the  inscriptions  1  relating  to  these 
altars  are  extant,  and  a  third  is  vouched  for.  One  of  these 
altars  was  on  the  Aventine  (p.  410)  and  has  disappeared,  but 
another  was  found  in  1889  on  the  Quirinal.  It  stood  in  an 
area  paved  with  travertine,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Alta 
Semita,2  opposite  the  temple  of  Quirinus,  and  close  to  the 
modern  church  of  S.  Andrea.  Three  steps  led  up  from  this 
area  to  the  higher  level  of  the  Alta  Semita.  They  have  been 
traced  for  a  distance  of  35  metres,  and  are  partially  visible  in 
the  modern  wall.  Along  the  front  of  the  area,  close  to  the 
lower  step,  was  a  row  of  travertine  cippi,  1.40  metres  in  height, 
0.80  x  0.50  in  depth  and  width,  and  2.50  apart,  of  which  three 
were  found  in  situ,  two  whole  and  one  injured.  The  altar 
itself  was  2.75  metres  back  from  the  cippi,  and  was  built  of 
travertine,  with  a  marble  cornice.  It  was  1.26  metres  in  height 
and  3.25  x  6.25  in  breadth  and  length,  and  stood  on  a  pedestal 
with  two  steps.  It  is  probable  that  there  was  one  of  these 
altars  in  each  region. 

Epigraphic  evidence  of  four  shrines  of  Silvanus  has  been 
found  in  region  VI,  —  one 3  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
thermae  Diocletiani  near  S.  Susanna,  where  there  was  also  a 
Mithraeum  ;  *  one 5  near  the  southeast  side  of  the  thermae  ;  one 8 
near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  thermae  Constantinianae, 
under  the  Banca  d'  Italia,  near  which  was  also  a  Mithraeum  ;7 
and  the  fourth  in  the  gardens  of  Sallust.8 

Thermae.  —  By  far  the  largest  building  in  region  VI  was  the 
thermae  Diocletiani,  which  were  built  by  Diocletian  and  Max- 


*  OIL.  vi.  826;  Mitt.  1891, 116-118;  1894,  94-97. 

»5C.  1889,  331-335,  379  ff.  «  OIL.  vi.  635. 

<  OIL.  vi.  728,  3724.       «  OIL.  vi.  3716.       «  BC.  1887, 102. 

1  OIL.  vi.  726,  737,  31020-31022 ;  NS.  1887,  109.     •  . 

8  OIL.  vi.  583,  640;  BC.  1887,  223;  1888,  402;  MM.  1889,  270. 


494  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

imian,  and  dedicated  in  305-306  A.D.  after  their  abdication.1 
These  thermae,  the  largest  in  the  empire,  occupied  an  area 
about  410  metres  long  and  400  wide,  or,  without  the  projecting 
rooms,  356  by  316  metres,  and  could  accommodate  about  three 
thousand  bathers  at  once.  The  erection  of  so  large  a  structure 
on  the  Quirinal  plateau  necessitated  the  complete  transforma- 
tion of  existing  topographical  conditions  by  the  destruction  of 
the  east  part  of  the  vicus  Longus  and  the  many  buildings  pre- 
viously occupying  its  site,  as  well  as  by  the  construction  of  a 
new  ground  level.2 

.  The  dedicatory  inscription3  has  been  preserved,  with  one 
which  records  a  later  restoration,  and  we  know  that  the  baths 
were  in  use  as  late  as  the  fifth  century.  After  the  fall  of  the 
empire  this  great  mass  of  buildings  suffered  from  continual 
destruction  and  transformation.  They  were  in  a  sad  state  of 
ruin  in  the  sixteenth  century,  when  Michelangelo  restored  the 
tepidarium  as  the  church  of  S.  Maria  degli  Angeli  and  con- 
structed the  cloisters  in  the  east  part  of  the  building,  which 
are  now  the  Museo  delle  Terme.  In  recent  years  new  streets 
have  been  opened,  and  great  buildings,  like  the  Grand  hotel, 
the  Massimi  palace,  and  the  Treasury,  have  been  erected  with- 
in the  limits  of  the  thermae.  The  ruins  have  been  built  over 
and  occupied  by  various  tenants,  but  are  now  to  be  entirely 
converted  into  a  national  monument.  While  the  aspect  of  the 
whole  edifice  has  thus  been  rendered  unrecognizable,  some 
parts  have  been  fairly  well  preserved;  and  with  the  help  of 
early  drawings  it  is  possible  not  only  to  make  out  the  original 
plan,  but  also  to  reconstruct4  the  whole  building  in  a  reasonably 
satisfactory  manner. 

In  general  plan  these  thermae  did  not  differ  from  those  of 

iTreb.  Pol.  Vit.  Trig.  Tyr.  21;  Vop.  Vit.  Probi,  2;  Olympiodorus  op. 
Photium,  80;  Gilbert,  III.  299;  RhM.  1894,  388-389. 

2  BC.  1887,  181;  OIL.  xv.  7441.  *  GIL.  vi.  1130,  1131. 

4  E.  Paulin,  Les  Thermes  de  DiocMien,  Paris,  1890,  Fol.  max. ;  Mitt.  1892, 
308-311 ;  Rivoira,  Lombardic  Architecture,  I.  74-80. 


QUIRINAL   AND   VIMINAL  —  REGION   VI. 


495 


Caracalla,  and  consisted  of  a  vast  inclosure  or  peribolus  sur- 
rounding the  baths  proper.  This  building  was  rectangular 
in  shape,  280  metres  wide  and  160  deep,  and  its  main  axis 
ran  northeast-southwest.  Its  exterior  was  built  in  two  stories 
of  arcades  and  pilasters,  the  lower  of  the  Ionic,  the  upper 
of  the  composite  Corinthian  order.  In  the  centre  of  the  east 


Fia.  90.  —  PLAN  OF  THE  BATHS  OF  DIOCLETIAN. 

side  was  the  frigidariura,  an  enormous  open  hall  that  con- 
tained the  piscina,  or  swimming  pool,  with  two  semicircular 
niches  on  the  west  side.  At  each  end  of  this  hall  were  vesti- 
bules, separated  from  it  by  rows  of  columns,  and  beyond  them 
large  dressing  rooms,  or  apodyteria.  There  were  four  entrances 
on  the  east  side,  which  was  the  front,  two  into  the  two  vesti- 
bules and  two  into  the  apodyteria  beyond.  There  was  there- 


496  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

fore  no  direct  entrance  into  the  frigidarium  from  without,  as 
in  the  thermae  of  Caracalla.  Behind  the  frigidarium  was  the 
great  hall  of  the  tepidarium,  65  metres  wide  and  25  deep,  with 
a  vaulted  roof  supported  on  eight  monolithic  columns  of  gray 
granite.  In  the  piers  at  the  four  corners  of  the  hall  were  small 
baths.  This  hall  forms  the  transept  of  the  church  of  S.  Maria 
degli  Angeli,  but  the  floor  of  the  church  is  2  metres  above 
the  ancient  level,  so  that  the  bases  of  the  columns  are  entirely 
covered,  and  the  apparent  bases  are  only  rings.  Between  the 
tepidarium  and  caldarium  was  a  circular  hall,  which  now 
serves  as  the  vestibule  of  the  church.  The  caldarium  itself 
projected  out  from  the  west  side  of  the  building  and  has  been 
destroyed.  In  the  centre  of  the  north  and  south  sides  were 
two  large  open  palaestrae,  surrounded  with  colonnades  above 
which  there  were  galleries.  Besides  these  principal  halls,  there 
were  very  many  other  apartments  of  all  sizes  for  the  numer- 
ous purposes  of  the  baths,  —  dressing,  anointing,  bathing,  and 
exercising.  In  the  building  there  are  said  to  have  been  nearly 
thirty-two  hundred  seats  of  polished  marble.  The  edifice  was 
built  of  concrete  and  brick  and  lined  with  stucco  and  marble, 
the  slabs  of  which  were  fastened  to  the  walls  with  bronze 
hooks.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  whole  structure  was  mag- 
nificently decorated,  but  it  probably  was  not  especially  rich  in 
works  of  art. 

Around  the  peribolus  were  small  rectangular  halls  and  semi- 
circular exedrae,  which  were  used  as  reading  and  lecture  rooms, 
gymnasia,  and  lounging  rooms.  In  the  centre  of  the  west  side 
was  a  very  large  exedra  equipped  as  a  theatre.  The  lines  of 
this  exedra  are  preserved  in  the  piazza  delle  Terme,  where  the 
modern  buildings  stand  on  the  curve  of  its  circumference.  At 
the  northwest  and  southwest  corners  of  the  peribolus  were  cir- 
cular halls  of  which  the  exact  purpose  is  not  known.  That  at 
the  northwest  corner  is  well  preserved  and  has  been  dedicated 
as  the  church  of  S.  Bernardo.  In  the  ruins  of  the  other  a 
prison  has  been  established.  During  the  fourth  century,  the 


QUIRINAL  AND  VIMINAL  —  REGION  VI.  497 

bibliotheca  Ulpia  which  Trajan  had  established  in  his  forum 
(p.  289)  was  transferred  to  these  thermae. 

The  piscina,  or  reservoir  of  the  baths,  fed  by  the  aqua 
Marcia,  was  outside  the  peribolus,  on  the  south  side.  Being 
in  the  angle  between  the  baths  and  the  vicus  collis  Viminalis 
it  was  trapezoidal  in  shape,  91  metres  long,  with  an  average 
width  of  16  metres.  The  vaulted  roof  was  supported  by 
forty-five  square  piers  of  masonry.1  Considerable  remains  of 
this  piscina  existed  until  1860,  and  the  last  vestiges  above 
ground  were  not  destroyed  until  1876.2  At  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  thermae  was  the  piscina  aquarum  Marciae  Tepulae 
luliae,  which  was  discovered  in  building  the  foundations  of  the 
Treasury. 

The  thermae  Constantinianae,  the  last  great  baths  of  Rome, 
were  built  by  Constantine ;  but  aside  from  this  fact  we  know 
nothing  of  their  history,  except  that  at  some  later  time  they 
were  restored  by  a  certain  Petronius  Perpenna,  prefect  of  the 
city.8  The  ruins,  which  were  standing  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, were  destroyed  to  make  room  for  the  palazzo  Rospigliosi, 
and  although  in  the  process  of  building  the  via  Nazionale  and 
the  Teatro  Drammatico  portions  of  them  have  been  found, 
there  is  nothing  now  remaining  but  the  most  meagre  frag- 
ments. 

Only  an  irregular  space,4  between  the  vicus  Longus,  the  Alta 
Semita,  the  clivus  Salutis,  and  the  vicus  laci  Fundani,  was 
available  for  these  baths,  and  as  it  was  also  on  a  side  hill 
it  was  necessary  to  make  an  artificial  level,  and  remains  of 
houses  of  the  second,  third,  and  fourth  centuries  have  been 
found  buried  ^beneath  the  foundations.  As  a  result  of  these 
conditions  these  thermae  differed  from  all  others  in  Rome. 
Our  knowledge  of  them  is  derived  from  drawings  of  archi- 

1  Lanciani,  Acque,  96. 

2  For  more  recent  excavations,  cf.  BC.  1906,  106-107;  NS.  1906,  120. 

»  Aur.  Viet.  Cae$.  40;  CIL.  vi.  1750;  Jordan,  I.  3.  438-441;  II.  526-528; 
Gilbert,  III.  300.  4  RhM.  1894,  389-392. 


498 


TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 


tects  of  the  sixteenth  century.  They  extended  due  north  and 
south,  and  as  the  main  building  occupied  all  the  space  between 
the  streets  on  the  east  and  west,  the  ordinary  peribolus  was 
replaced  by  an  inclosure  which  extended  across  its  front  and 
was  bounded  on  the  north  by  a  curved  line.  The  palazzo  della 
Consulta  now  occupies  this  curved  quasi-peribolus.  The 


FIG.  91  —  PLAN  OF  THE  BATHS  OF  CONSTANTINK. 

frigidarium  was  in  the  middle  of  the  north  side,  and  back  of 
it  the  tepidarium  and  the  caldarium,  both  circular  in  shape. 
Owing  to  the  narrowness  of  the  space,  the  ordinary  succession 
of  three  anterooms  on  each  side  of  the  caldarium  was  not  pos- 
sible, and  these  rooms  were  grouped  differently. 

During  the  excavations 1  on  this  site  some  notable  works  of 

i  RhM.  1894,  423  n. ;  GIL.  vi.  1148-1150;  Lanciani,  Ancient  Rome,  297  ff. 


QUIRINAL   AND   VIMINAL  — REGION   VI.  499 

art  have  been  found,  such  as  the  Dioscuri  on  the  Quirinal  and 
the  statue  of  Constantino  in  the  Lateran,  which  undoubtedly 
came  from  the  thermae.  Besides  these  thermae,  balnea  Stephani 
are  mentioned,1  probably  near  the  house  of  Martial,  and  a 
lavacrum  Agrippinae 2  occurs  in  inscriptions  on  lead  pipes. 

Other  Buildings.  —  The  castra  Praetoria,8  or  barracks  of  the 
praetorian  cohorts,  were  built  by  Tiberius  in  the  extreme 
northeastern  part  of  the  city,  just  beyond  the  inhabited  district. 
These  barracks  were  constructed  on  the  well-known  model  of 
a  fortified  Roman  camp,  and  formed  a  rectangle  440  metres 
long  and  380  wide.  The  walls  were  furnished  with  battle- 
ments and  turreted  gates,  the  masonry  being  brickwork  of  the 
best  period.  Aurelian  incorporated  the  castra  in  his  line  of 
fortification,  which  joined  the  castra  at  the  northwest  corner 
and  again  at  the  middle  of  the  south  side.  The  north  and  east 
wall  of  the  castra  thus  formed  the  continuation  of  the  Aurelian 
wall ;  but  as  it  was  not  sufficiently  high,  its  height  was 
increased  not  only  by  an  addition  at  the  top,  but  also  by  dig- 
ging away  the  soil  at  its  base  on  the  outside  to  a  depth  of  3.50 
metres,  thus  laying  bare  the  foundations.  Constantine  dis- 
mantled the  barracks  by  destroying  the  wall  on  the  inner  sides, 
toward  the  city.  The  original  wall  on  the  north  and  east  sides 
can  be  distinguished  from  the  additions  of  Aurelian  by  the 
difference  in  brickwork  and  by  the  outline  of  the  battlements. 
The  gates  on  these  two  sides,  which  were  walled  up  by  Aure- 
lian, can  also  be  seen.  All  round  the  inside  of  the  wall  were 
rows  of  chambers  occupied  by  the  soldiers,  some  of  which  have 
been  excavated.  They  are  4  metres  in  height  and  4.40  in 
width,  built  of  opus  reticulatum  and  lined  with  stucco.  Above 
them  was  a  vaulted  corridor  7.70  metres  high,  and  over  that  a 

i  Mart.  xi.  52.  4 ;  xiv.  60.  2  OIL.  xv.  7247 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  375. 

8  Suet.  Tib.  37;  Nero,  48;  Tac.  Ann.  iv.  2;  Hist.  iii.  84;  Schol.  Juv.  x.  95; 
PI.  NH.  iii.  G7 ;  BC.  1873,  5, 12 ;  1876, 176  ff. ;  1877,  81 ;  1879, 36 ;  1880,  82 ;  Gil- 
bert, III.  198-199;  Jordan,  I.  3.  385-390. 


500  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

paved  walk  for  the  guards.  This  form  of  construction  prob- 
ably surrounded  the  whole  area  of  the  castra,  but  all  traces  of 
the  west  side,  and  almost  all  of  the  south  side  except  some 
foundations,  have  disappeared.  Many  fragments l  of  lead  water 
pipes  have  been  found,  which  show  the  care  expended  by 
successive  emperors,  Marcus  Aurelius,  Severus,  Caracalla,  and 
others,  on  the  water  supply  of  the  barracks.  The  principal 
gate,  porta  Praetoria,  was  on  the  north  side  :  the  porta  princi- 
palis  dextra  and  the  porta  principalis  sinistra  on  the  west  and 
east  sides  respectively. 

According  to  the  statements  of  certain  writers  of  the  renais- 
sance, an  arch  dedicated  to  G-ordianus  III  stood  inside  the 
castra  Praetoria.2  Although  there  is  no  further  evidence  for 
this  arch  except  some  architectural  remains  found  at  some  dis- 
tance from  its  supposed  site,  its  existence  has  been  generally 
admitted  and  complete  restorations  attempted.  Very  re- 
cently, however,  the  statements  referred  to  have  been  dis- 
credited, and  the  provenience  of  the  fragments  disputed.3  In 
the  north  part  of  the  castra  was  an  ara  Fortunae  Kestitutricis,4 
the  inscription  of  which  was  found  on  the  spot ;  and  it  is  prob- 
able that  there  were  several  such  altars  to  various  divinities 
within  the  precinct.  Modern  barracks  now  occupy  the  area  of 
the  old  castra. 

The  wide  open  space  (p.  486)  in  front  of  the  castra  was  un- 
doubtedly devoted  to  the  use  of  the  praetorians,  for  no  traces 
of  buildings  have  been  found  there,  except  of  some  few  shrines 
and  altars.  The  ruins  of  two  such  shrines  have  been  found 
between  the  via  Montebello,  the  via  Goito,  and  the  via  Gaeta.5 
One  was  a  small  temple  10  metres  wide  and  16  long,  which 
stood  in  the  midst  of  a  paved  inclosure.  It  contained  inscribed 
lists,  laterculi,  of  the  soldiers  who  had  dedicated  it.  The  other 
was  a  smaller  aedicula  with  four  columns  in  front,  which  was 

i  CIL.  xv.  7237-7244.  «  EC.  1873,  103,  234;  cf.  Mon.  d.  Lincei.  i.  550. 

8  Jordan,  I.  3.  390-391.         *  CIL.  vi.  30872;  BC.  1888,  109. 

6  BC.  1873,  103,  234;  1877,  21 ;  1878,  263;  CIL.  vi.  31383,  32523-4,  32622-4. 


QUIRINAL   AND   VIMINAL  —  REGION  VI.  501 

dedicated  by  the  same  soldiers.  Of  this  temple  fragments  of 
the  cornice,  and  of  a  frieze  decorated  with  ox  skulls,  were 
found. 

.  The  static  cohortis  III  vigilum,  or  barracks  of  the  watchmen 
on  duty  in  regions  IV  and  VI,  was  probably  just  inside  the 
porta  Viminalis,  near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  thermae 
Diocletiani,  but  the  evidence,  which  is  epigraphic,  is  scanty.1 
Between  the  temples  of  Flora  and  Quirinus  were  the  officiuae 
minii,2  or  mills  for  the  working  of  the  cinnabar  brought  from 
Spain.  Assuming  that  the  temple  of  Flora  was  near  the  piazza 
Barberini  (p.  489),  these  officinae  were  probably  at  the  foot  of 
the  hill,  near  the  present  via  Easella. 

Horti  Sallustiani.  —  Although  within  the  limits  of  region  VI, 
these  gardens,  with  the  horti  Liicullani  and  horti  Aciliorum, 
formed  the  northern  group  of  parks,  just  as  those  on  the 
Esquiline  formed  the  southern.  They  occupied  the  northwest 
slope  of  the  Quirinal,  the  southeast  slope  of  the  Pincian  as  far 
as  the  via  Salaria  vetus,  and  the  valley  between,  extending 
nearly  to  the  line  of  the  Aurelian  wall  in  one  direction  and 
to  the  campus  Agrippae  in  the  other.  They  were  laid  out  by 
the  historian  Sallust,3  who  lavished  upon  them  the  great  wealth 
which  he  had  amassed  in  Numidia,  and  they  continued  in  the 
possession  of  the  family  of  the  Sallustii  until  the  reign  of 
Tiberius.  After  that  time  they  were  a  favorite  residence  of 
the  emperors,  especially  Nero,  Vespasian,  and  Nerva,  and  later 
Aurelian.4  In  410  A.D.  they  were  sacked  by  the  Goths  under 
Alaric.5  It  is  probable  that  these  gardens  were  on  the  whole 

1  GIL.   vi.  3761;   BC.  1873,  250;   1876,  107;  RhM.  1894,  417  n.;   Lanciaiii, 
Acque,  286;  Jordan,  I.  1.  309;  II.  122. 

2  Vitr.  vii.  9.  4;  BC.  1889,  379;  RhM.  1894,  407. 

»Dio  Cass.  xliii.  9;  Ps.-Cic.  Resp.  in  Sail.  19;  Tac.  Ann.  iii.  30;  OIL.  vi. 
8670-8672,  9005;  Gilbert,  III.  375-376;  Jordan,  I.  3.  430-436. 

4  Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  47;  Dio  Cass.  Ixvi.  10;  Vop.  Vit.  Aurel.  49;  Chronogr.  a. 
354,  p.  146. 

6  Procop.  Bell.  Vand.  i.  2. 


502  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

the  most  magnificent  in  Rome.  Many  works  of  art  have  been 
found  within  the  ruins,  as  well  as  the  obelisk  which  now 
stands  in  the  piazza  di  S.  Trinita  dei  Monti. 

Within  the  gardens  were  many  buildings  of  various  kinds,, 
of  some  of  which  architectural  fragments  have  been  found,  but 
usually  not  such  as  to  admit  of  identification.  Several  inscrip- 
tions prove  the  existence  of  a  temple  of  Venus  hortorum  Sallus- 
tianorum,1  and  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  identify  this  temple 
with  a  round  structure  near  the  porta  Salaria,  the  ruins  of 
which  were  discovered  in  the  sixteenth  century  and  described 
by  architects  of  the  time.2  This  structure,  however,  was  not  a 
temple,  but  rather  a  nymphaeum,  connected  with  the  elaborate 
system  of  water  supply  installed  in  the  gardens.  The  remains 
of  three  piscinae  belonging  to  this  system  have  been  found,3  one 
on  the  north  side  of  the  vicus  portae  Collinae  (via  Venti  Set- 
tembre)  opposite  the  Treasury,  one  in  the  vicolo  di  S.  Niccolo  da 
Tolentino,  and  the  third  under  the  casino  Aurora  in  the  via 
Ludovisi ;  also  a  number  of  lead  water  pipes  inscribed  with  the 
names  of  Nero,  Alexander  Severus,  and  Valentinian.4 

Aurelian  constructed  a  portions  Miliarensis 5  —  a  name  which 
should  mean  a  portions  one  thousand  passus  in  length  — within 
these  gardens,  and  this  is  frequently  located  on  the  north  side 
of  the  vicus  portae  Collinae,  but  without  convincing  evidence. 
A  porticus  of  this  length  must  have  run  about  the  gardens  in 
various  directions. 

Before  the  destruction  of  the  villa  Ludovisi  that  occupied 
this  district  and  the  construction  of  the  new  Ludovisi  quarter, 
many  more  vestiges  of  the  ancient  gardens  remained,  notably 
the  ruins  of  substructures  of  a  great  building,  perhaps  a  Hippo- 
dromus,  built  against  the  slope  of  the  Quirinal  south  of  the  via 
Sallustiana.  During  the  process  of  transformation  a  porticus 

1  OIL.  vi.  122,  32451 ;  BC.  1885,  162. 

2  BC.  1888,  3-11;  Mitt.'lSW,  270-274;  1892,  313;  Melanges,  1891,  167-170. 

3  Gilbert,  III.  376,  and  references  there  given. 

*  OIL.  xv.  7249,  7250,  7259.  «  Vop.  Vit.  Aur.  49. 


QUIRINAL   AND   VIMINAL  — REGION   VI.  503 

with  travertine  columns  was  found  between  the  via  Sallustiana 
and  the  via  Boncompagni.  At  present  the  only  ruins  visible 
are  at  the  end  of  the  via  Sallustiana,  where  the  ancient  level  is 
far  below  the  modern.  These  ruins  are  those  of  a  nyinphaeum 
containing  an  octagonal  hall  with  niches  and  lined  with  marble, 
and  of  an  adjacent  large  building,  probably  a  place  of  residence, 
with  apartments  rising  to  a  height  of  four  stories. 

In  the  fourth  century  the  historian  Obsequens1  speaks  of 
certain  horti  Oaesaris  ad  portam  Collinam  as  existing  in  the  year 
17  B.C.,  and  these  may  have'formed  part  of  the  horti  Sallustiani.2 

Private  Houses.  —  In  no  other  section  of  the  city  have  indi- 
cations of  private  houses  been  found  in  such  numbers.  In 
most  cases  the  evidence  comes  from  inscriptions,  generally  from 
those  on  water  pipes,  and  must  be  used  with  caution  in  deter- 
mining the  exact  location  of  a  house,  as  pipes  belonging  to  one 
man  might  extend  to  a  considerable  distance  beyond  his  house. 
The  names  indicate  that  this  section  was  largely  inhabited  by 
rich  and  influential  families.  T.  Poinponius  Atticus,3  the 
friend  of  Cicero,  lived  on  the  Quirinal  near  the  temples  of 
Salus  and  Quirinus.  His  house  was  old-fashioned  in  its  ap- 
pointments, but  provided  with  a  delightful  garden.  An  in- 
scription4 of  101  A.D.  shows  that  the  house  of  T.  Pomponius 
Bassus,  curator  alimentorum  under  Trajan,  was  at  the  southeast 
corner  of  the  Alta  Semita  and  the  clivus  Salutis,  and  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  this  had  been  the  site  of  the  house 
of  the  Pomponii  from  the  first.  Martial  lived5  in  a  tenement 
in  the  street  called  ad  Pimm,  and  later6  in  his  own  house  in 
the  street  that  led  from  the  temple  of  Flora  to  the  Capitolium 
vetus ;  but  neither  site  can  be  definitely  located.  Vespasian 


1  71  (131).  2  Ps.-Cic.  Resp.  in  Sail.  19. 

8  Cic.  ad  Att.  iv.  1 ;  xii.  45 ;  de  Legg.  i.  3 ;  Nepos,  Att.  13. 
*  OIL.  vi.  1492;  BC.  1889,  380;  RhM.  1894,  397,  399,  403. 
5  Mart.  i.  108.  3, 117.  6;  RhM.  1894,  396-397. 
e  Mart.  v.  22.  3;  x.  58. 


504  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

lived  in  a  house  in  the  street  ad  Malum  Punicum,1  and  his 
brother  Flavins  Sabinus  next  door. 

A  glance  at  Lanciani's  map 2  will  show  the  number  of  houses 
of  which  pipes  have  been  found,3  but  the  exact  position  of 
only  a  small  part  of  these  is  assured.  Of  this  small  number 
may  be  mentioned  those  of  Vulcacius  Rufinus, 4  uncle  of  the 
emperor  Julian,  under  the  Ministero  della  Guerra,  and  that 
of  the  gens  Nummia 5  just  east  of  it ;  that  of  T.  Aelius  Naevius 
Antoninus  Severus,6  in  the  via  Nazionale  near  the  palazzo 
dell'  Esposizione,  and  that  of  Aemilia  Paulina  Asiatica,7  under 
this  building;  those  of  L.  Cornelius  Pusio8  and  C.  Articuleius 
Germinianus,9  near  the  Banca  d'  Italia ;  that  of  a  certain  Cor- 
nelia Tauri  f.  Taxi  (uxor),10  in  the  via  Nazionale,  east  of  the  via 
dei  Serpenti ;  that  of  Alfenius  Ceionius  lulianus  Camenius,u 
in  the  villa  Barberini ;  and  that  of  Q.  Valerius  Vegetus,12  near 
the  Ministero  della  Guerra.  Near  the  Teatro  Drammatico  was 
the  house  of  Narcissus,13  the  famous  freedman  of  Claudius. 

Tombs.  —  Domitian  was  born  in  51  A.D.  in  the  house  of  his 
father  Vespasian,  and  after  becoming  emperor  he  erected  on 
this  spot  a  temple  to  the  gens  Havia,14  which  was  to  be  the 
mausoleum  of  the  family.  In  this  mausoleum  were  deposited 
the  remains  of  the  three  Flavian  emperors,  and  the  edifice 
existed  in  the  fourth  century,  although  nothing  is  known  of  its 

1  GIL.  vi.  29788;  Suet.  Dom.  1.  2  Nos.  ix,  x,  xvi,  xvii. 

3  OIL.  xv.  7235-7913;  RhM.  1894,  384;  BC.  1889,  379  if. 

4  BC.  1884,  45;  1885,  17-22;  RhM.  1894,  385. 

«  CIL.  vi.  1748;  BC.  1885,  5-10;  1886,  18-25;  RhM.  1894,  387. 
6  BC.  1881,  15;  Kaibel,  Inscriptions  Graecae,  1071;  CIL.  vi.  1332,  9147; 
RhM.  1894,  385-386. 

1  CIL.  xv.  7380;  Mitt.  1889,  276. 

8  Mitt.  1892, 197-203;  NS.  1893,  194;  RhM.  1894,  386. 

»  RhM.  1894,  386.         »  BC.  1880,  327;  1881,  15;  RhM.  1894,  386. 

11  CIL.  vi.  1675;  BC.  1884,  43;  RhM.  1894,  387. 

12  CIL.  xv.  7558. 

is  CIL.  xv.  7500.    Cf.,  however,  Jordan,  I.  3.  421. 

"  Suet.  Dom.  1,  5,  15,  17 ;  Stat.  Silv.  iv.  3. 18 ;  Mart.  ix.  1.  8,  3.  12,  34.  7. 


QUIRINAL  AND   VIMINAL  — REGION   VI.  505 

intervening  history.  Its  site,1  as  already  indicated  (p.  504), 
was  south  of  the  Alta  Semita,  in  or  near  the  street  ad  Malum 
Punicum  (via  delle  Quattro  Fontane). 

Just  outside  the  porta  Salutaris,  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
present  via  Dataria,  was  found  a  tomb  of  republican  date  be- 
longing to  the  Sempronii.2  This  tomb  was  built  of  travertine 
and  ornamented  with  a  Greek  frieze.  Its  discovery  in  1866 
assisted  materially  in  determining  the  position  of  the  porta  and 
clivus  Salutaris. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  the  large  marble  tomb  of  a  cer- 
tain Octavia,3  wife  of  Appius,  was  found  on  the  east  side  of 
the  via  Salaria  vetus,  at  the  corner  of  the  present  via  di  porta 
Pinciana  and  the  via  Sistina ;  inside  the  porta  Salaria  on  the 
east  side  of  the  via  Salaria  nova,  in  the  grounds  of  the  villa 
Buonaparte,  the  tomb  of  the  Oalpurnii ;  *  just  outside  this  gate 
and  partially  covered  by  its  towers,  the  tombs  of  Cornelia 
Scipionis  f.  Vatieni  (uxor) 5  on  the  north  side,  and  of  Q.  Sulpi- 
cius  Maximus6  on  the  south ;  and  under  the  tower  of  the  porta 
Nomentana,  the  tomb  of  a  Q.  Haterius.7 

Outside  the  Aurelian  wall,  between  the  via  Salaria  and  the 
via  porta  Pinciana,  was  a  necropolis  of  the  last  century  of 
the  republic  and  the  first  two  of  the  empire,  where  the  freedmen 
and  slaves  of  more  than  twenty  of  the  great  families  of  Rome, 
and  also  the  soldiers  of  the  praetorian  guard,  were  buried.  In- 
scriptions by  the  hundreds  have  been  found  in  this  cemetery 
for  two  centuries,  and  the  growth  of  the  city  in  this  region  dur- 
ing the  last  twenty  years  has  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  un- 
usually large  numbers,  as  well  as  of  many  columbaria.8  These 


1  BC.  1889,  383;  RhM.  1894,  399-400 ;  Mitt.  1891, 120 ;  Altmann,  Rundbauten, 
88;  PBS.  iii.  243. 

2  BC.  1876,  126;  RhM.  1894,  411 ;  OIL.  vi.  26152.  «  CIL.  vi.  23330. 
*  BC.  1885, 101;  Bull.  d.  1st.  1885,  9-13,  22-30;  CIL.  vi.  31721-31727. 

«  CIL.  vi.  1296.  6  CIL.  vi.  33976.  '  CIL.  vi.  1426. 

8  ^8.  1886-1907  passim ;  BC.  1886,  401  ff . ;    1897,  57  ff.,  276  ff . ;   1899,  63  ff., 
152  ff.,  263-269;  1902,  81-92;  1905-1908  passim ;  Mitt.  1891,  124. 


506  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

columbaria  are  regularly  built  of  opus  reticulatum,  and  corre- 
spond in  orientation  with  the  via  Salaria.  Outside  the  porta 
Nomentana  were  the  columbaria  of  the  Aelii  and  Doinitii,  and 
other  tombs.  Traces  of  another  necropolis x  have  recently  been 
found  between  the  via  delle  Finanze  and  the  via  S.  Susanna. 

i  NS.  1907,  505-520. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  TRANSTIBERINE  DISTRICT.     REGION  XIV. 

The  right  bank  of  the  Tiber  was  originally  in  the  possession 
of  the  Etruscans,  in  particular  of  the  inhabitants  of  Veii,  and 
the  name  ripa  Veientana,1  which  during  the  empire  seems  to  have 
been  applied  to  that  part  of  it  north  of  the  pons  Aurelius,  was 
probably  in  use  from  very  early  times.  The  whole  district 
between  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Tiber  and  the  more  restricted 
limits  of  Veientine  territory  was  known  to  the  Romans  as 
ager  Vaticanus,2  a  name  for  which  no  satisfactory  explanation 
has  been  found,  although  it  may  possibly  have  been  derived 
from  that  of  some  early  town,  Vaticum  or  Vatica.  The  ridge 
that  runs  north  and  south  along  the  river  through  this  ager 
Vaticanus  was  called  from  earliest  times  laniculum,  or  the 
Janus-city  (p.  16).  It  extended  from  a  point  opposite  the  ex- 
treme southern  limit  of  the  city  to  monte  Mario,  the  division 
between  the  modern  monte  Vaticano  and  the  ridge  being  arti- 
ficial 3  and  due  to  the  removal  of  the  vast  amount  of  clay  which 
has  been  dug  here  for  many  centuries.  By  the  end  of  the 
republic  the  term  mons  Vaticanus,4  or  its  plural  montes  Vaticani, 
had  come  to  be  employed  as  synonymous  with  laniculum,  but 
there  is  no  evidence  that  mons  Vaticanus  was  used  as  a  specific 
name  for  any  part  of  the  ridge. 

The  level  ground  between  this  ridge  and  the  river  was  called 
Vaticanum,5  until  Caligula  built  his  circus  where  St.  Peter's 

1  BC.  1887, 15;  Mitt:  1889,  286-287 ;  OIL.  vi.  31547,  31555 ;  Jordan,  I.  3,  651. 

2  Cic.  de  Leg.  agr.  ii.  96;  Liv.  x.  26;  (Jell.  xvi.  17 ;  RhM.  1891,  112-138;  BC. 
1908,  23-26. 

»  BC.  1892,  288. 

*  Cic.  ad  Alt.  xiii.  33;  Hor.  Od.  i.  20.  7;  Juv.  vi.  344.    «  PL  NH.  xviii.  20. 

507 


508  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

now  stands.  Thenceforth.  Vaticanum  seems  to  have  been 
gradually  restricted  to  this  circus  and  its  immediate  surround- 
ings.1 That  part  of  the  plain  which  is  inclosed  in  the  great 
bend  of  the  Tiber,  opposite  the  forum  Boarium,  was  known 
as  the  pagus  laniculensis,2  a  reminiscence  of  its  earlier  corporate 
existence  (cf.  pagus  Montanus,  p.  444). 

This  Transtiberine  district  was  one  of  the  earliest  parts  of 
the  ager  Rom  anus,  and  until  the  later  times  of  the  republic 
it  preserved  an  almost  purely  suburban  character.  The  prata 
Quinctia,3  or  four  acres  which  belonged  to  Cincinnatus  opposite 
the  Navalia,  were  cultivated  even  in  the  reign  of  Augustus, 
as  were  also  the  prata  Mucia.4  Even  in  the  second  century  we 
are  told  that  the  right  bank  was  called  Oodeta 5  because  bushes 
grew  there  in  form  like  mares'  tails.  The  district  did  not  form 
a  part  of  the  Servian  city,  but  the  building  of  the  pons  Sublicius 
necessitated  some  sort  of  fortification  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
river ;  and,  in  fact,  remains  6  of  opus  quadratum,  like  that  of 
the  Servian  wall,  have  been  found  just  opposite  the  forum  Bo- 
arium. When  the  pons  Aemilius  was  built,  a  sort  of  viaduct 
of  tufa  was  constructed  from  it  to  the  Janiculurn,  fragments  of 
which  have  been  found.7  The  road  appears  to  have  been  20 
Roman  feet  in  width.  Augustus  included  trans  Tiberim  in 
the  city,  and  made  it  the  fourteenth  region.  Its  boundaries 
are  quite  uncertain,  but  it  must  have  included  much  more  than 
was  afterward  brought  within  the  Aurelian  wall,  and  probably 
extended  from  the  horti  Agrippinae  south  as  far  as  the  Aven- 
tine.  The  line  of  the  Aurelian  wall  has  already  been  described 
(p.  66). 

The  earliest  population  of  the  right  bank  seems  to  have 
been  made  up  for  the  most  part  of  fishermen,  tanners,  and 


1  PI.  NH.  xvi.  201;  xxxvi.  74;  Suet.  Claud.  21.     . 

2  GIL.  vi.  2219-2220 ;  Gilbert,  II.  176-177. 

8  Liv.  iii.  26  ;  PI.  NH.  xviii.  20.  5  Fest.  Epit.  58;  Jordan,  I.  3.  624. 

4  Liv.  ii.  13  ;  Dionys.  v.  35.  6  NS.  1880,  226,  468. 

7  BC.  1889,  475-476;  1890,  6-9,  57-65;  Mitt.  1891,  145-158. 


TRANSTIBERINE   DISTRICT  — REGION  XIV.  509 

potters.  To  the  importance  of  the  first  the  ludi  piscatorii1 
bear  witness.  The  Ooraria,2  or  tanners'  quarter,  existed  down 
to  the  fourth  century.  Many  remains  of  the  shops  of  the 
potters3  have  been  found  on  the  batik,  especially  near  the 
Ospizio  di  S.  Michele,  and  the  clay  pits  have  already  been 
referred  to.  Other  trades 4  followed  these ;  and  under  the  em- 
pire the  larger  part  of  the  district  was  covered  with  a  net- 
work of  narrow  streets  and  crowded  houses  and  shops,  and 
inhabited  by  a  population  decidedly  doubtful  in  character. 

A  short  distance  below  the  porta  Aurelia  were  the  molinae,5  or 
public  mills,  driven  by  the  aqua  Traiana,  which  continued  in 
use  until  the  sixth  century. 

There  were  also  docks  and  horrea6  on  .this  side  of  the  river, 
for  mounds  of  broken  amphorae  and  doliola,  like  those  of 
monte  Testaccio,  have  been  found  in  the  Prati  di  Castello,  — 
the  name  formerly  given  to  the  fields  north  and  east  of  the 
Vatican,  —  while  the  church  of  S.  Francesco  a  Ripa  stands 
upon  a  similar  mound.7  During  the  excavations  in  the  villa 
Farnesina,  an  inscription8  belonging  to  the  cellae  vinariae 
nova  et  Arruntiana  was  found  beneath  a  pile  of  broken  wine 
jars,  and  afterward  the  warehouse  itself  (p.  516)  was  discovered. 

Our  information  as  to  the  growth  and  appearance  of  the 
Transtiberine  district  before  the  end  of  the  republic  is  very 
meagre ;  but  after  that  date  it  developed  along  two  lines,  —  one 
that  already  described,  and  the  other,  that  which  was  suggested 
to  the  rich  Romans  by  the  natural  beauty  of  the  ridge  of  the 
Janiculum.  This  gave  rise  to  the  formation  of  a  series  of 
gardens  and  parks,  which  belonged  both  to  private  individuals 
and  to  the  emperors.9 

i  Fest.  210,  238;  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  237-240. 

*Bnll.  d.  1st.  1871,  161-170;  BC.  1887,  3-7;  Mitt.  1889,  288-289;  Gilbert, 
III.  447;  OIL.  vi.  1117-1118. 

3  Cf .  Juv.  vi.  344 ;  PI.  NH.  xxxv.  163.  *  NS.  1887, 17. 

5  Not.  Reg.  xiv;  Procop.  Bell.  Goth.  i.  19;  Jordan,  I.  3.  648. 

«  BC.  1889,  359;  NS.  1884,  392.  *  Ann.  d.  1st.  1878  186-187. 

8  CIL.  vi.  8826 ;  NS.  1878,  66.  9  Jordau,  I.  3, 628-630. 


510  TOPOGRAPHY   OF   ANCIENT   ROME. 

Temples  and  Shrines.  —  Tradition  assigned  the  earliest  cults 
in  this  district  to  the  time  of  Numa,  who  was  said  to  have  been 
buried  near  the  altar  of  Fons  or  Fontus,1  a  son  of  Janus.  To 
this  period  also  belongs  the  lucus  Furrinae,2  in  which  C.  Gracchus 
was  killed. 

Very  recent  excavations  have  shown  that  this  grove  covered 
the  site  of  the  present  villa  Sciarra  on  the  Janiculum.  Part  of 
the  inclosing  wall  of  the  lucus  has  been  found,  its  sacred  spring, 
and  remains  of  a  temple  of  luppiter  Heliopolitanus  and  other 
Syrian  deities  whose  worship  was  established  here  during  the 
empire.  Most  of  the  dedicatory  inscriptions  date  from  175-185 
A.D.,  and  the  remains  of  the  earlier  temple  belong  to  about  the 
same  period,  while  those  of  later  date  indicate  a  restoration 
about  the  end  of  the  third  century.  Among  the  fragments  of 
sculpture  that  have  been  found  are  statues  of  Hades,  Bacchus, 
and  an  Egyptian  king  of  about  the  thirtieth  dynasty. 

The  temple  of  Fors  Fortuna  stood  at  the  first  milestone  on  the 
via  Portuensis,  and  was  ascribed  to  Servius  Tullius,3  as  well 
as  another  temple4  of  the  same  goddess  at  the  sixth  mile- 
stone, in  the  grove  of  the  Arval  Brethren.  In  293  B.C.  Sp.  Oar- 
vilius  built  a  temple  to  Fors  Fortuna  prope  aedem  eius  deae 
ab  rege  Servio  Tullio  dedicatam,5  but  it  is  uncertain  which  of 
the  two  earlier  temples  is  referred  to.  Again,  in  17  A.D.,  still 
another  temple  to  this  goddess  was  erected  in  the  horti  Caesaris, 
and  therefore  close  to  the  first  ascribed  to  Servius.6  In  this 


1  Liv.  xl.  29;  Cic.  de  Legg.  ii.  56;  de  Nat.  Deor*'\ii.  52;  Arnob.  iii.  29. 

2  Cic.  ad  Q.  Fr.  iii.  1;  Auct.  de  Vir.  111.65;  Plat.  C.  Gracch.  17;  BC.  1905, 
216;  1907,45-81;  1909,  97-106;  Mitt.  1907,  225-254;  Melanges,  1908,  283-336; 
1909,  1-80,  238-268;  CQ.  1908,  148-149;  Arch.  Anz.  1909,  130. 

8  Varro,  LL.  vi.  17 ;  Plut.  de  Fort.  Rom.  5 ;  Donat.  Phorm.  v.  6.  1 ;  Gilbert, 
II.  393;  III.  450-451 ;  Jordan,  I.  3.  644. 

4  Hemer.  Amit.  viii.  Kal.  lul.;  GIL.  i2.  p.  320;  Ov.  Fast.  vi.  783;  GIL.  vi. 
167-169;  BC.  1904,  31/-324. 

6  Liv.  x.  46. 

8  Tac.  Ann.  ii.  41 ;  Plut.  Brut.  20.  (This  was  not  a  restoration  of  the  earlier 
temple.) 


TRANSTIBERINE   DISTRICT  — REGION   XIV.  511 

neighborhood  many  small  votive  offerings  in  bronze  have  been 
found.1  The  ruins  of  a  concrete  podium  faced  with  peperino, 
with  architectural  fragments,  which  were  discovered  in  1861, 
may  perhaps  belong  to  the  temple  of  Servius.2 

Where  the  railroad  station  of  Trastevere  now  stands,  a  shrine 
was  discovered,3  cut  in  the  tufa  rock  and  dedicated  to  Hercules, 
who  is  represented  as  reclining.  In  front  of  the  shrine  were 
two  altars,  exactly  alike.  This  shrine  was  undoubtedly  that 
of  Hercules  Cubans,4  and  probably  gave  its  name  to  a  vicus,  as 
we  may  infer  from  the  vicus  statuae  Valerianae 5  near  by. 
The  same  is  probably  true  of  another  monument  mentioned 
only  in  the  Notitia,  the  Oaput  Gorgonis.6  It  has  been  suggested 7 
that  the  Gorgon  represented  the  ancient  Furrina,  and  that  the 
vicus  led  from  the  Tiber  to  the  lucus  Furrinae. 

Near  the  church  of  S.  Cecilia  was  a  sacellum  Bonae  Deae,8 
and  near  Caligula's  circus  a  temple  of  the  Magna  Mater.9  This 
temple  was  also  called  Frigianum  (Phrygianum),  and  must  have 
been  one  of  the  most  important  seats  of  the  cult  of  Cybele, 
for  an  inscription 10  found  in  Lyons  shows  that  a  similar  sanctu- 
ary there  was  called  Vaticanum. 

Of  the  shrines  dedicated  to  the  Corniscae11  and  to  luppiter 
Dolichenus  ^  nothing  further  is  known. 

Horti. —  The  most  distinctive  feature  of  the  Transtiberine 
region  was  the  gardens,  which  extended  from  the  bank  of  the 
river  opposite  monte  Testaccio  along  the  ridge  of  the  Janicu- 
lum  to  the  mausoleum  of  Hadrian.  The  most  southern  were 


1  NS.  1888,  229;  Mitt.  1889,  290-291. 

2  BC.  1884,  26-27;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1860,  415-418. 

3  NS.  1889,  243-247;  BC.  1890,  9;  Mitt.  1891,  149;  1892,  331. 
*  Not.  Reg.  xiv. 

*Bas.  Cap.  Reg.  xiv.  12;  BC.  1891,  342,   357;  Not.  Reg.  xiv;    CIL.   vi. 
31893. 

6  Not.  Reg.  xiv.  '  Mitt.  1907,  250.  »  CIL.  vi.  65-67,  75. 

9  CIL.  vi.  497-504;  Not.  Reg.  xiv;  Gilbert,  III.  113;  RhM.  1891,  132. 

i°  CIL.  xiii.  1751.  »  CIL.  vi.  96;  Fest.  Epit.  64.  ™  CIL.  vi.  415. 


512  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

the  horti  Caesaris,1  which  extended  from  a  point  near  the  porta 
Portuensis  south  along  the  via  Portuensis,  and  contained  within 
their  limits  the  temple  of  Fors  Fortuna,  which  was  one  mile 
from  the  porta  Portuensis.  These  gardens  were  left  by  Caesar 
to  the  Roman  people,  and  were  thereafter  public  property. 
There  is  no  later  mention  of  them  ;  but  remains  of  works  of 
art  as  well  as  of  buildings  have  frequently  been  found 2  within 
these  limits. 

North  of  the  horti  Caesaris  were  the  horti  Getae,3  which  per- 
haps lay  on  the  ridge  and  the  east  slope  of  the  Janiculum, 
covering  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  villa  Corsini,  the 
villa  Lante,  and  perhaps  part  of  the  convent  of  S.  Onofrio. 
These  gardens  were  probably  constructed  by  Severus,4  under 
the  name  of  his  youngest  son,  and  some  remains  of  works  of 
art  and  buildings  have  been  found  in  this  district. 

At  the  foot  of  the  slope  beyond  S.  Onofrio  were  the  horti 
Agrippinae,  which  occupied  the  present  site  of  St.  Peter's  and 
extended  to  the  Tiber,  from  which  they  were  separated  by  a 
portico.  These  gardens  were  owned  by  Agrippina,5  and  at 
her  death  in  33  A.D.  came  into  the  possession  of  her  son  Calig- 
ula. Thenceforth  they  were  a  part  of  the  imperial  property, 
a  favorite  resort  of  later  emperors,  especially  of  Nero  and 
Elagabalus,  and  appear  to  have  been  commonly  known  as  the 
horti  Neronis.6 

The  north  boundary  of  the  horti  Agrippinae  appears  to  have 
been  the  via  Cornelia,  and  from  this  street  east  extended  the 
horti  Domitiae,7  which  belonged  to  Domitia,  either  the  sister  of 
Nero's  father,  or  the  daughter  of  Corbulo  and  wife  of  Domi- 
tian.  Both  these  gardens  were  probably  often  included  under 


1  Cic.  Phil.  ii.  109;  Hor.  Sat.  i.  9.  18 ;  Tac.  Ann.  ii.  41 ;  Dio  Cass.  xliv.  35. 

2  EC.  1884,  25-30;  1887,  90-95 ;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1860,  415-450. 

8  Not.  Reg.  xiv;  Jordan,  I.  3,  649,  656.  6  Sen.  de  Ira,  iii.  18. 

4  Spart.  Vit.  Sev.  4.  «  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  39,  44. 

"Jul.  Cap.  Vit.  Anton.  5;  Vop.  Vit.  Aurel.  49;  Not.  Reg.   xiv;    OIL.  vi. 
16983;  Jordan,  I.  3.  662-663. 


TRANSTIBERINE    DISTRICT  — REGION   XIV.  513 

the  term  horti  Neronis.  When  the  palazzo  di  Giustizia  was 
built,  their  eastern  boundary  was  found  to  coincide  with  the 
axis  of  the  new  structure,  and  on  the  west  of  this  line  many 
monumental  remains  of  opus  reticulatum  and  marble  were  dis- 
covered.1 Before  the  great  changes  effected  since  1870  in  this 
part  of  the  city,  the  north  portion  of  this  park  was  represented 
by  the  Prati  di  Castello. 

There  were  many  other  gardens  in  this  region.  Cicero 
mentions  those  of  Drusus,2  Oassius,  Lamia,'1  Clodia,4  Silius,5  and 
Scapula,6  some  of  which  he  thought  of  buying;  Galba  had  his 
own  on  the  via  Aurelia ; 7  and  those  of  M.  Kegulus 8  were  prob- 
ably near  by.  One  inscription 9  records  the  horti  Aboniani.  The 
horti  Antoniani 10  were  near  those  of  Caesar. 

Other  Buildings.  —  In  the  transtiberine  region  Augustus 
constructed  a  naumachia,  the  naumachia  Augusti,  and  between 
it  and  the  river  he  laid  out  a  grove,  the  nemus  Oaesarum.11  This 
naumachia  was  1800  Roman  feet  (536  metres)  long,  and  1200 
(357)  wide,  and  was  supplied  with  water  by  the  aqua  Alsietina, 
built  by  Augustus  for  this  purpose  (p.  98).  It  was  used 
by  Nero  and  Titus,12  but  fell  into  disuse  later,  for  in  the  time 
of  Alexander  Severus  only  traces  of  it  remained.13  The  pons 
Naumacharius,14  which  was  restored  by  Tiberius  after  a  fire,  must 
have  been  a  bridge  across  this  nauraachia.  It  has  been  gener- 
ally supposed  that  the  naumachia  of  Augustus  was  situated 
opposite  the  Aventine,  in  the  district  between  S.  Cosimato  and 
S.  Francesco  a  Ripa,  but  a  much  stronger  case  can  be  made  out 


1  BO.  1889, 173-178,  445-446.  6  Ad  Alt.  xii.  37. 

2  Ad  Att.  xii.  21, 23,  25.  J  Suet.  Galba,  20  ;  Tac.  Hist.  i.  49. 
8  Ad  Att.  xii.  21.                                8  PI.  Epist.  iv.  2. 

*  Pro  Cael.  36.  •  OIL.  vi.  €71.  » 

«  Ad  Att.  xii.  26,  27.  10  CIL.  vi.  9990-9991 ;  Dio  Cass.  xlvii.  40. 

11  Mon.  Anc.  iv.  43-44;  Tac.  Ann.  xii.  56;  xiv.  15;  Suet.  Aug.  43;  Tib.  72; 
Gilbert,  III.  334-335. 

i'2  Suet.  Nero,  12;  Tit.  7;  Dio  Cass.  Ixi.  20;  Ixvi.  25. 

is  Dio  Cass.  Iv.  10.  M  PI.  NH.  xvi.  190,  200. 


514  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

for  the  site  between  the  villa  Lante  and  the  Lungara,  just  north 
of  the  villa  Corsini.1  Domitian  built  a  second  nauinachia2  on 
the  west  side  of  the  river,  and  Philippus  Arabs  still  a  third,3 
although  this  may  perhaps  have  been  only  a  restoration  of  that 
of  Augustus.  It  is  probable  that  the  naumachia  of  Domitian 
was  situated  northwest  of  the  mausoleum  of  Hadrian,  in  the 
district  called  regio  naumachiae  in  the  middle  ages,  where 
remains  of  such  a  structure  have  been  found.4 

At  the  monte  de'  Fiori,  near  the  church  of  S.  Crisogono,  is 
the  excubitorium  cohortis  VII  vigilum,  which  was  discovered  in 
1866.  The  building,  which  appears  to  have  been  originally  a 
large  private  house,  belongs  to  the  second  century,  and  on  its 
walls  are  many  graffiti,  dating  from  215  to  245  A.D.  and  con- 
taining much  information  with  regard  to  the  organization  of 
the  corps.5  The  portion  excavated  consists  of  a  central  atrium 
with  mosaic  pavement  and  a  hexagonal  fountain,  and  adjacent 
apartments,  among  them  a  lararium  and  a  balneum. 

The  castra  Lecticariorum,6  or  headquarters  of  the  guild  of 
litter-carriers,  were  perhaps  in  this  neighborhood,  and  nearer 
S.  Maria  in  Trastevere  the  castra  Kavennatium,7  or  barracks  of  a 
detachment  of  sailors  from  the  imperial  fleet  stationed  at 
Ravenna  (cf.  p.  450).  No  trace  of  these  castra  has  been  found 
except  inscriptions.8 

In  the  horti  Agrippinae,  Caligula  built  the  circus  Vaticanus,9 
sometimes  called  the  circus  Gai  et  Ueronis,10  as  it  was  conspicu- 

1  Jordan,  I.  3,  640-642,  652-656. 

2  Suet.  Dom.  4-5;  Dio  Cass.  Ixvii.  8.  3  Aur.  Viet.  Caes.  28. 

4  Jordan,   I.  3.  660;  II,  328,  430;   Hiilsen,  II   Gaiamim  e   la  Naumachia 
Vatlcana,  Diss.  d.  Pont.  Accad.  Romana,  1902,  355-379. 

5  Bull.  d.  1st.  1867,  8-12  (building) ,  12-30  (inscriptions) ;  Ann.  d.  1st.  1874, 
111-163  (insc.) ;  GIL.  vi.  2998-3091;  Jordan,  I.  1.  309;  Gilbert,  III.  197. 

•  6  Not.  Reg.  xiv;  OIL.  vi.  8872-8876;  Gilbert,  III.  184;  Jordan,  I.  3,  669. 

7  Mirab.  10.  8  ciL.  vi.  3148-3162. 

9  Suet.  C'al.  54;  Claud.  21;  Nero,  22;  Dio  Cass.  lix.  14;  Tac.  Ann.  xiv.  14; 
PI.  NH.xvi.  201;  Gilbert,  III.  320;  Hiilsen,  II  Circo  di  Nerone  al  Vaticano, 
reprinted  from  Miscellanea  Ceriani,  Milan,  1910,  256-278. 

1°  PI.  NH.  xxxvi.  74. 


TRANSTIBERINE   DISTRICT  — REGION  XIV.  515 

ously  identified  with  the  orgies  of  the  latter  emperor.  The 
south  wall  of  the  first  basilica  of  St.  Peter's  coincided  with  the 
north  wall  of  this  circus.  The  carceres  were  at  the  east  end  of 
the  circus,  toward  the  Tiber,  and  were  flanked  by  two  towers, 
placed  uusymmetrically.  On  the  spina,  Caligula  erected  the 
obelisk1  from  Heliopolis,  obeliscus  Vaticanus,  which  now  stands 
in  front  of  St.  Peter's.  It  is  of  red  granite,  a  monolith  25.36 
metres  in  height,  without  hieroglyphics,  and  wras  moved  from 
its  ancient  to  its  present  site  in  1586,  having  stood  erect  from 
the  time  when  it  was  brought  to  the  city. 

Whether  the  name  Gaianum,2  found  in  the  Kegionary  Cata- 
logue, was  ever  applied  to  the  circus  of  Caligula,  is  doubtful. 
It  is,  on  the  contrary,  very  probable  that  this  was  the  name  of 
an  open  space  south  and  southwest  of  the  naurnachia  of  Domitian, 
round  which  the  statues  of  famous  charioteers  were  erected.8 

We  know  the  names  of  baths,  the  balnea  Ampelidis  and  Prisci 
et  Dianae  ; 4  of  a  campus,  the  campus  Bruttianus ; 5  and  of  a  street, 
the  Mica  Aurea 6  (cf .  p.  442),  but  none  of  these  can  be  located. 

In  widening  the  channel  of  the  Tiber  within  the  grounds  of 
the  villa  Farnesina  some  interesting  buildings  were  discovered,7 
which  have  since  been  destroyed.  The  farthest  north  of  these 
was  a  private  dwelling  of  the  first  century,  with  a  cryptoporticus 
and  various  rooms  in  which  excellent  specimens  of  wall-paint- 
ings were  found.  These  paintings  are  now  in  the  Museo  delle 
Terme,  together  with  stucco  ceilings  in  relief.  South  of  this 
house  was  a  rectangular  structure,  the  first  story  of  which  con- 
sisted of  vaulted  store-rooms,  and  the  second  of  a  complex  of 
courts  surrounded  by  long  porticoes,  of  many  of  which  the 
columns  were  found.  The  building  in  general  resembled  the 

1  PI.  NH.  xvi.  201;  OIL.  vi.  882;  Gilbert,  III.  194. 

2  Dio  Cass.  lix.  14;  BC.  1896,  248-249;  Jordan,  I.  3.  662. 
8  See  Hulsen's  work,  quoted  on  p.  514,  note  4. 

4  Not.  Reg.  xiv.  5  tf0t.  Reg.  xiv. 

6  BC.  1889,  392-399;  Mitt.  1891,  148. 

"  -VS.  1878,  66;  1879,  15,  40,  68;  1880,  127-142,  pi.  iv.;  1884,  238;  BC.  1900, 
321-341. 


516  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

horrea,  and  was  called  the  cellae  vinariae  nova  et  Ammtiana 
(p.  509).  It  was  cut  through  by  the  Aurelian  wall  when  that 
was  built. 

Between  these  two  buildings  was  another,  of  trapezoidal 
shape,  which  may  have  been  the  schola  of  the  collegium  Libert 
patris  et  Mercuri  negotiantium  cellarum  vinariarum  novae  et 
Arruntianae  Caesar  is  (nostri). 

South  of  the  Aurelian  wall  and  close  to  it  was  found  the 
tomb  of  0.  Sulpicius  Platorinus,1  who  was  triumvir  monetalis  in 
18  B.C.  The  tomb  itself  was  rectangular,  7.44  metres  long 
and  7.12  wide,  with  the  entrance  on  the  west.  The  stylobate 
and  front  part  of  the  walls  were  of  travertine,  the  inner  walls 
of  brick-faced  concrete.  The  pavement  was  of  white  mosaic. 
In  the  niches  were  cinerary  urns  with  inscriptions,  and  on  the 
pavement  were  found  two  statues  of  heroic  size  and  a  bust. 
Remains  of  ancient  columbaria  have  recently  been  found2  on 
the  via  Portuensis,  near  the  railway  station  of  Trastevere. 

Mausoleum  Hadriani.  —  In  the  horti  Domitiae,  Hadrian 
began  the  erection  of  his  famous  mausoleum,3  also  called  moles 
Hadriani  or  Hadrianeum,  and  sepulorum  Antoninorum,  which  was 
not  finished  until  139  A.D.  At  the  same  time  he  constructed 
the  pons  Aelius.  When  the  Aurelian  wall  was  restored  by 
Honorius,  the  mausoleum  was  connected  by  short  walls  with 
the  north  end  of  the  pons  Aelius  and  the  fortifications  on  the 
left  bank,4  and  converted  into  the  chief  fortress  of  the  city, 
which  it  has  continued  to  be  until  very  recently.  In  590 
A.D.,  during  a  plague,  Gregory  the  Great  is  said  to  have  beheld 
the  archangel  Michael  sheathing  his  sword  above  the  fortress. 
A  chapel  was  therefore  dedicated  to  the  archangel  on  the  mau- 

1  VS.  1880,  129-138;  1883,  372;  1896,  468;  BC.  1880,  136;  Mitt.  1889,  286; 
GIL.  vi.  31761-31768  a. 

2  BC.  1908,  98-101. 

'Spart.  Vit.  Hadr.  19;  Jul.  Cap.  Vit.  Ant.  Pii,5;  Procop.  Bell.  Goth.  i.  22; 
Gilbert,  III.  308-309;  Jordan,  I.  3,  663-667;  II.  426-428,  433-434. 
*  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  411-419;  Mitt.  1892,  329. 


TRANSTIBERINE   DISTRICT  — REGION   XIV. 


517 


soleum  and  a  statue  erected,  probably  about  610,  since  which 
time  the  building  has  borne  the  name  of  Castel  S.  Angelo. 

The  structure  has  undergone  extensive  changes  and  many 
additions  have  been  made  during  the  past  centuries,  but  with 
the  help  of  medieval  drawings  and  recent  excavations,  its 


FIG.  92. —  THE  CASTLE  OF  S.  ANGELO. 

original  form  can  be  partially l  made  out.  The  lower  part  was 
a  rectangular  foundation  or  podium  84  metres  square  and 
about  10  high,  built  of  concrete  with  travertine  walls,  which 
was  faced  with  blocks  of  white  marble.  The  outer  surface 

IB  17.  1888,  129-131;  1893,  22-25;  NS.  1892,  412-428;  Mitt.  1891,  137-145; 
1893,  321-324;  Borgatti,  Castel  S.  Angelo,  Rome,  1890;  Rodocanachi,  Le 
Chateau  Saint-Ange,  Paris,  1909. 


518  TOPOGRAPHY  OF   ANCIENT  ROME. 

was  decorated  with  Corinthian  pilasters  and  an  entablature, 
the  frieze  of  which  was  adorned  with  garlands  and  ox-skulls  in 
relief.  A  fragment  of  one  of  the  Corinthian  capitals  is  in  the 
Museo  delle  Terme.  Around  this  foundation  was  a  rather  wide 
avenue,  inclosed  by  a  low  wall  and  a  line  of  travertine  pillars, 
between  which  were  bronze  gratings.  On  the  tops  of  the  pil- 
lars were  bronze  peacocks.  The  entrance  was  in  the  centre  of 
the  side  toward  the  river,  directly  opposite  the  head  of  the 
bridge,  between  which  and  the  inclosing  grating  there  was  a 
street  running  along  the  river  bank.  The  opening  through 
this  inclosing  grating  and  the  wall  was  triple,  after  the  man- 
ner of  a  triumphal  arch,  the  central  passage  being  2.40  metres 
wide,  and  the  others  2.10.  Over  the  entrance,  set  in  the  wall 
of  the  podium,  was  the  sepulchral  inscription  of  Hadrian ;  and 
on  each  side  of  the  entrance  was  a  row  of  eight  inscriptions, 
commemorating  other  members  cf  the  imperial  family,  while 
that  of  Commodus  was  set  above  this  row  on  the  left.  Of 
these  eighteen  inscriptions,1  twelve  have  been  found.  This 
great  foundation  is  for  the  most  part  below  the  present  level 
or  concealed  by  later  masonry. 

On  this  square  base  stood  a  circular  mass  64  metres  in  diam- 
eter and  21  high,  made  of  concrete  inclosed  in  walls  of  traver- 
tine and  peperino,  which  was  faced  with  Parian  marble.  '  This 
facing  was  probably  made  of  rectangular  blocks,  and  above  the 
entablature  was  a  row  of  statues  encircling  the  entire  building. 
This  cylindrical  portion  forms  the  principal  part  of  the  modern 
fortress ;  but  of  the  decoration  nothing  but  some  fragments  of 
the  marble  facing  remains.  Above  the  centre  of  the  drum  rose 
a  small  base,  probably  cylindrical,  which  supported  a  statue  of 
Hadrian  in  a  .quadriga.  The  colossal  heads  of  Hadrian  and 
Antoninus  now  in  the  Vatican  undoubtedly  belonged  to  the 
adornment  of  the  mausoleum,  but  we  do  not  know  just  where 
they  were  placed. 

l  GIL.  vi.  984-995. 


TRANST1BERINE   DISTRICT  — REGION  XIV. 


519 


From  the  outer  entrance  in  the  square  base,  an  inclined  way 
led  straight  into  the  mass  for  about  16  metres  to  a  vaulted 
vestibule,  in  which  was  a  niche  where  a  statue  of  Hadrian 
must  have  stood.  From  this  vestibule  a  passage  more  than  9 
metres  high  and  3  wide  led  upward  in  a  spiral  round  the  whole 
drum,  until  it  reached  a  point  directly  over  the  vestibule. 
Thence  it  led  straight  into  the  principal  sepulchral  chamber 
in  the  upper  part  of  the  drum.  This  passage  was  lined  with 
marble  and  paved  with  mosaic.  The  sepulchral  chamber  was 


Fia.  93.  —  THE  MAUSOLEUM  OF  HADRIAN  RESTORED. 

9  by  8  metres  in  area  and  12  metres  high,  constructed  of  blocks 
of  peperino  and  travertine  and  lined  with  the  most  precious 
marbles.  In  each  of  the  four  sides  of  the  chamber  were  niches 
containing  sarcophagi.  The  lid  of  a  porphyry  sarcophagus 
found  here  is  now  used  as  the  baptismal  font  in  St.  Peter's, 
but  the  sarcophagus  itself  has  disappeared.  In  this  chamber 
were  the  ashes  of  Hadrian  and  probably  of  his  wife  Sabina, 
and  of  Aelius  Caesar.  From  this  chamber,  and  also  from  the 
spiral  passage,  air  ducts  were  cut  through  to  the  outside  of  the 
drum,  and  provision  was  also  made  for  drainage.  The  square 


520  TOPOGRAPHY  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 

rooms  immediately  above  the  central  chamber  have  recently 
been  shown  to  be  ancient,  and  were  doubtless  also  sepul- 
chral chambers.  In  this  mausoleum  were  probably  buried  all 
the  emperors  and  members  of  their  immediate  families,  from 
Hadrian  to  Severus  and  his  sons.1 

Many  traces  of  tombs  have  been  found  along  the  streets 
which  rail  west  and  northwest  from  the  pons  Aelius ;  and  be- 
tween 1492  and  1503  a  pyramid,2  meta  Romuli,  which  stood  at 
the  corner  of  the  Borgo  Nuovo  and  the  vicolo  dei  Penitenzieri, 
was  removed  by  Alexander  VI.  This  pyramid  was  regarded  by 
some  as  a  tomb  of  Romulus,  and  by  others  as  that  of  Scipio 
Africanus.  Another  sepulchral  monument,  shaped  something 
like  an  obelisk,  and  known  in  the  middle  ages  as  the  obeliscus 
Neronis,  or  terebinthus  Neronis,3  was  situated  not  far  from  the 
pyramid,  and  was  destroyed  at  about  the  same  period. 

1  Spart.  Vit.  Sev.  19,  24;  Jul.  Cap.  Vit.  Opil.  Macrin.  5;  Dio  Cass.  Ixxvi. 
15;  Ixxviii.  9,  24. 

2  Jordan,  I.  3.  659;  II.  405-406;  BC.  1908,  26-30. 
8  Mon.  d.  Lincei,  i.  525-527. 


INDEX. 


Acqua  Felice,  97. 

Paola,  102. 

Adonaea.  156. 

Aedes,  see  Temple. 

Aedes  Thensarum,  302. 

Aedicula  Aesculapii  et  Hygiae,  433. 

Bonae  Deae,  421. 

—  Camenarum,  432. 

—  Capraria,  482. 

Concordiae,  175. 

Faustinae,  177. 

luturnae,  216. 

Vestae,  210. 

Victoriae  Virginis,  140. 

Aemiliana,  52,  341. 

Aequimelium,  395. 

Aerarium  Saturni,  179. 

Aesculetum,  341. 

Ager  Vaticanus,  507. 

Agger,  114-116. 

Agonalia,  39. 

Agrippa,  buildings,  70,  351,  387-389, 

477  ff. ;  survey,  2. 
Almo,  433. 

Alta  Semita,  62,  484. 
Altar,  see  Ara. 
Amphitheatres,  325. 
Amphitheatium  Castrense,  471. 

—  Flavium,  324-334. 
Neronis,  365. 

Statilii  Tauri,  325,  365. 

Anaglypha  Traiani,  222,  263. 
Angiportus,  55. 
Anio  novus,  99-102. 

vetus,  93. 

Anonymus  Magliabecchianus,  9.     , 

Antrum  Cyclopis.  441. 

Apollinare  -in    the    prata    Flaminia, 

344. 

Appiades,  276. 
Aqua  Alexandrina,  102. 


Aqua  Alsietinaor  Augusta,  98,  513. 

Annia,  104. 

Antoniniana,  95,  427. 

Appia,  56,  92. 

Appia  Augusta,  93. 

—  Attica,  104. 

Augustea,  104. 

Aurelia,  104. 

Caemlea,  104. 

Cernens,  394. 

Ciminia,  104. 

Claudia,  98, 439. 

Conclusa,  104. 

Damnata,  104. 

Dotraciana,  104. 

Drusia,  104. 

—  Herculea,  104. 

lovia,  95. 

lulia,  96. 

Marcia,  94. 

Mercurii,  91,432. 

Pinciana,  104. 

Severiana,  104. 

Tepula,  96. 

-  Traiana,  102. 

Virgo,  97. 

Aqueducts,  92-104,  463. 
Ara  Aii  Locutii,  141. 

Bellohae,  304. 

Caesaris,  183-185. 

Cereris,  179. 

Consi,  36,  404. 

Dei  incerti  on  the  Palatine,  140. 

Ditis  et  Proserpinae,  342. 

Evandri,  415. 

Fontis  (Fonti),  510. 

Fortunae  Reducis,  433. 

Fortunae  Restitutricis,  500. 

Gentis  luliae,  303. 

Herculis  Maxima,  36, 397, 402. 

lani  Curia tii,  450. 


521 


522 


INDEX. 


Ara  incendii  Neroniani  on  the  Aven- 

tine,  410. 
incendii  Neroniani  on  the  Quiri- 

nal,  493. 

Isis  et  Serapis,  304. 

lovis  on  the  Capitol,  303. 

—  IovisElicii,421. 

lovis  Inventoris,  415. 

lovis  Tutoris,  303. 

lovis  "Vimini,  491. 

lunonis  Sororiae,  450. 

—  luturnae,  216. 

Larum  Praestitum,  131. 

—  Martis,  340. 

—  Nemesis,  304. 

Opis  in  vico  lugario,  179. 

Pacis  Augustae,  361. 

Ti/x'js  eWXiriSos,  490. 

Vermini,  491. 

Volcani,  174. 

Arch,  see  Arcus  and  Fornix. 

Archaic  Structures  under  the  Lapis 

Niger,  241-250. 
Arco  della  Ciambella,  387. 

di  Druso,  427,  434. 

di  Latrone,  337. 

dei  Pantani,  279. 

• di  Portogallo,  479. 

Arcus  Arcadii  Honorii  et  Theodosii, 

379. 

Argentariorum,  275. 

Augusti,  253. 

—  M.  Aurelii  in  Capitolio,  275, 324. 
Caelemontani  or  Neroniani,  99, 

341. 

Neronis  in  Capitolio,  305. 

Claudii  (two),  458,  479,  480. 

Constantini,  322. 

Constantini  in  the  forum  Boarium, 

403. 

Diocletian!  (Novus),  480. 

Dolabellae  et  Silani,  411,  440. 

Domitiani,  378. 

Drusi  in  the  forum  Augusti,  281. 

—  Drusi  in  Reg.  I,  434. 

—  Fabiorum,  319. 

Gallieni,  471. 

Germanici,  281. 

Gordiani,  500. 


Arcus  Gratiani  Valentiniani  et  Theo- 
dosii, 379. 

Hadriaui,  479. 

lani  in  the  Forum,  257. 

lani  Quadrifrontis,  403. 

—  ad  Isis,  319,  449. 

Lentuli  et  Crispini.  410,  440. 

Manus  Carneae,  480. 

Novus  (Diocletiani),  480. 

Panis  Aurei  in  Capitolio,  275. 

Pietatis,  398. 

Septimii  Severi,  74,  254. 

Septimii    Severi    in    the    forum 

Boarium,  403. 

Tiberii   in   the  campus  Martius, 

378. 

Tiberii  in  the  Forum,  254. 

Titi,  319. 

Traiani  in  the  forum  of  Trajan, 

286. 

Traiani  in  Reg.  I,  434. 

Valentiniani,  82. 

Veri,  435. 

Vespasiani  et  Titi  in  the  Circus 

Maximus,  340. 

Area  Apollinis,  144. 

Calles,  431. 

Candidi,  486. 

Capitolina,  301,  305. 

Carruces,  431. 

Cereris,  458. 

Concordiae,  174. 

Fori,  257-270. 

Palatina,  165. 

Pannaria,  431. 

Radicaria,  414. 

Saturni,  179. 

Volcani,  173. 

Argei,  43. 

Argiletum,  171,  173,  275,  446,  457. 

Armamentarium,  334. 

Armilustrium,  414. 

Arx,  294-297. 

Arx  et  Capitolium,  292. 

Asylum,  292,  305. 

Athenaeum,  370. 

Atria  Licinia,  460. 

Atrium  Caci,  394. 

Libertatis,  275. 


INDEX. 


523 


Atrium  Minervae,  239,  241. 
Sutorium,  459. 

Vestae,  204-210. 

Auditorium  Maecenatis,  465. 

Auguraculum  on  the  Arx,  296. 

ou  the  Quirinal,  487. 

Auguratorium  on  the  Palatine,  130. 

Augustus,  building  activity,  70-72. 

Aurelian,  City  of,  32,  64-66. 

Aventine,  position,  extent,  etc.,  16,  17, 
412;  relation  to  pomerium,  48, 
412,  name,  413;  streets  and 
squares,  413;  buildings,  415-427. 

Aventinus  (Regio),  63. 

Balnea  Naeratii  Cerealis,  460. 

—  Stephani,  499. 

—  Surae,  417. 
Balneae  Pallacinae,  342. 
Balneum  Abascantis,  434. 

Ampelidis,  515. 

Antiochiani,  434. 

Bolani,  434. 

Mamertini,  434. 

Prisci,  515. 

-  Torquati,  434. 

Vespasiani,  434. 

Balustrades  (of  the  Rostra?),  222,  263. 
Bases    of    honorary  columns   in   the 

Forum,  262,  263. 
of  statue  of  Constantine,  262. 

—  of  Constantius,  237. 
of  Domitian,  261. 

of  Q.  Marcius  Tremulus  (?),  261. 

of  Mars  Invictus,  236. 

Basilica  Aemilia,  194-199. 

Argentaria,  274. 

Constantiniana  (nova) ,  335. 

Fulvia,  194. 

Gai  et  Luci,  192. 

Hilariana,  442. 

lulia,  192. 

lunii  Bassi,  461. 

Marcianae,  378. 

Matidiae,  378. 

Neptuni,  360,  376,  378. 

Opimia,  174. 

Pauli,  194. 

Porcia,  230. 


Basilica  Sempronia,  192. 

—  Ulpia,  287. 
Basilicas,  57. 

Baths,  see  Balnea  or  Thermae. 
Bibliotheca  in  the  atrium  Liberatatis, 
275. 

—  in  the  domus  Tiberiana,  147,  162. 

in  the  porticus  Octaviae,  372. 

in  the  temple  of  Apollo,  146. 

in  the  temple  of  Augustus,  162, 163. 

in  the  temple  of  Peace,  282. 

Ulpia,  289,  497. 

Brick,  24,  28-29,  31,  52. 
Bridges,  see  Pons. 
Building  materials,  22-25. 

—  methods,  25-31. 
Busta  Gallica,  396. 

Caca,  34,  133. 

Cacus,  133. 

Caelian  hill,  name,  428;  position,  ex- 
tent, etc.,  16,  42,  428;  streets 
and  squares,  429-431 ;  buildings, 
432-443. 

Caelemontium,  60,  428,  430. 

Caeliolus,  429. 

Caementum  marmoreum,  31. 

Caesar's  plans  for  the  city,  70. 

Caligula,  building -activity,  72,  147. 

Campagna,  extent,  etc.,  11-12;  forma- 
tion, 12-14. 

Campus  Agrippae,  477. 

Bruttianus,  515. 

Caelemontanus,  431. 

cohortium  Praetoriarum,  486. 

Flaminius,  52. 

Ignifer,  340. 

Lanatarius,  414. 

Lateranensis,  431. 

Martialis,  431. 

Martius,  name,  340;  extent,  etc., 

15,  339-341;  relation  to  pome- 
rium, 56,  69;  drainage,  340; 
streets  and  squares,  342 ;  earliest 
structures,  342-346 ;  buildings, 
346-392. 

Minor,  431. 

Sceleratus,  486. 

Viminalis  sub  aggere,  445,  469. 


524 


INDEX. 


Canalis,  272. 

Capita  bubula,  143. 

Capitoline  Base,  2. 

Capitoline  hill,  position,  extent,  etc., 
16,  43,  291-293;  fortifications, 
291,  294;  approaches,  294; 
buildings,  295-308. 

Capitoline  (Marble)  Plan,  2-5,  59. 

Capitolium,  292,  297-305. 

vetus,  292,  487. 

Capocce,  Le,  453. 

Caprae  (Capreae)  palus,  19,  340. 

Caput  Gorgonis,  511. 

Caput  Tauri,  468. 

Career,  250. 

Career  in  lautumiis,  252. 

Carceres  (Circi) ,  404. 

Carinae,  40,  444. 

Casa  Romuli  on  the  Capitol,  302. 

—  on  the  Palatine,  34, 130. 
Castel  S.  Angelo,  516. 
Castella  aquae,  92. 

Castra  equitum  singularium,  441,  472. 

fontanorum,  461. 

lecticariorum,  514. 

Misenatium,  444,  450. 

Peregrina,  440. 

—  Praetoria,  66,  499. 
—  Ravennatium,  514. 

—  Urbana,  478. 
Cati  fons,  19,  340. 
Cella  soliaris,  424. 

Cellae  vinariae  nova  et  Arruntiana, 

509,  516.    . 
Cenatio  lovis,  152. 
Centum  gradus,  295. 
Cermalus,  33,  129. 
Cerolia,  429. 
Ceroliensis,  43,  429. 
Chalcidicum,  239,  241. 
Chronicon,  9. 
Church  of  S.  Adriano,  239. 

S.  Agnese,  366. 

S.  Andrea,  461. 

S.  Bernardo,  496. 

S.  Clemente,  456. 

SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano,  338. 

S.  Croce  in  Gerusalemme,  470. 

S.  Francesca  Romana,  318. 


Church    of    S.    Giorgio    in   Velabro, 
403. 

S.-Giovannino  in  Capite,  477. 

S.  Lorenzo  in  Miranda,  186. 

S.  Maria  degli  Angeli,  494,  496. 

S.  Maria  Antiqua,  164. 

S.  Maria  in  Cosmedin,  401. 

S.  Maria  Egiziaca,  399. 

S.  Maria  ad  Martyres,  358. 

S.  Maria  sopra  Minerva,  350. 

S.  Maria  Rotonda,  358. 

—  S.  Maria  del  Sole,  401. 

—  S.  Martina,  241. 

S.  Nicola  in  Carcere,  390,  391. 

;  S.  Niccold  ai  Cesarini,  347,  362. 

"  S.  Stefano  Rotondo,  441. 

Ciconiae  nixae,  342,  476. 

Cimbrum,  463. 

Cippi  of  pomerium,  67-69. 

Cippus  and  archaic  inscription,  244- 

250. 
Circus  Flaminius,  62,  364. 

—  Gai  et  Neronis,  514. 

Maximus,  62,  403-409. 

Vaticanus,  514. 

Cispius  mons,  16,  40. 
Cisterns  on  the  Palatine,  132. 
Civitas  Leonina,  64. 
Claudium,  439. 

Claudius,  building  activity,  72. 

pomerium,  68. 

Clay  pits,  168,  173,  507,  509. 
Clivus  Argentarius,  172,  274. 

-  Bassilli,  449. 

-  Capitolinus,  54,  171,  294. 
Delfini,  414. 

-  Mamuri,  485. 

-  Martis,  432. 

Orbius  (Urbius),  447. 

Palatinus,  165,  312. 

-  Publicius,  413. 
Pullius,  448. 

-  Sacer,  165,  309,  312. 

-  Salutis  or  Salutaris,  485. 

-  Scauri,  430. 

-  Suburanus,  54,  447. 

-  Victoriae,  138-139. 

Cloaca  Maxima,  18,  107-109,  168,  270- 
397. 


INDEX. 


525 


Codeta,  508. 

Cohors  I  vigilum,  479. 

II  vigiluin,  470. 

Ill  vigilum,  501. 

IV  vigilum,  422. 

V  vigilum,  440. 

VII  vigilum,  514. 

Cohortes  vigilum,  stationes  and  excu- 

bitoria,  63-64. 
Coins,  as  evidence,  6. 

in  atrium  Vestae,  209. 

Colles,  16,  41. 

Collini,  41. 

Collis  Agonus  (Agonius),  484. 

hortolorurn,  16,  475. 

Latiaris,  16,  487. 

Mucialis,  16. 

Quirinalis,  16,  41,  484-506. 

—  Salutaris,  16,  485,  489. 

—  Viminalis,  16,  42,  484-506. 
Colosseum,  324-334. 
Colossus  Neronis,  317,  335. 
Columbaria  at  the  porta  Salaria,  505. 
in  the  via  Appia,  437. 

in  the  via  Portuensis,  516. 

—  in  the  via  Praenestina,  473. 
Columna  Antonini,  379. 

—  bellica,  344. 
Caesaris,  183. 

—  Maenia,  231. 

Marci  Aurelii,  380. 

—  L.  Minuci  Augurini,  88. 
Phocae,  260. 

rostrata  (Duilia),  220. 

—  Traiani,  287. 

Comitium,  167,  168,  169,  170,  228-241, 
247-259 ;  of  the  republic,  228-232 ; 
pavements,  232-236,  258 ;  pedes- 
tals, 236;  pits,  237-238. 

Compita,  57,  459. 

Compitum  Acilii,  450. 

—  Fabricii,  431. 
Concrete,  26-27,  30. 
Coraria,  509. 

Cornel  cherry  tree  on  the  Palatine,  34, 

130. 

Corneta,  449. 
Creta  flgulina,  24. 
Crypta  Balbi,  367,  374. 


Cryptoporticus  on  the  Palatine,   136, 

148. 
Cuniculi  in  the  Campagna,  13. 

in  the  Forum,  266. 

Curatores  Tiberis,  76. 

vicorum,  58. 

Curia,  229  ff. 

athletarum,  451. 

Calabra,  302. 

Hostilia,  229. 

—  lulia,  229,  238-241. 

Octaviae,  373. 

Pompei,  375. 

Saliorum,  130. 

Curiae  novae,  130. 

—  veteres,  37,  130. 
Curiosum.  5. 

Custodia  Mamertini,  251. 
Customs'  boundaries,  59,  65. 

Decem  tabernae,  486. 
Decenniae  (Decennium) ,  19,  431. 
Descriptio  murorum,  8,  65,  120. 
Dianium,  449. 
Diribitorium,  386. 
Dittamondo,  9. 
Divorum,  363. 
Doliola,  395. 

Domitian.  building  activity,  73. 
Domus,  meaning  of,  55. 
-T.  AeliiSeveri,504. 

—  Aemiliae  Paulinae,  504. 

—  M.  Aemilii  Scauri,  135. 

-  Alfenii  Ceionii  luliani,  504. 
Anci  Martii,  315. 

—  Anniorum,  443. 

—  C.  Articulei  Germiniani,  504. 
Augustana,  143, 146. 

-  Aurea,  72,  325,  452,  455. 
Q.  Aurelii  Symmachi,  442. 

-  Balbini,  456. 

-  Bruttii  Praesentis,  456. 

-  Caecinarum  Deciorum,  420. 

—  CaeSaris,  457. 

Sp.  Cassii,  457. 

Catilinae,  135. 

Cilonis,  422. 

Ti.  Claudii  Centumali,  429. 

Commodiana,  143. 


526 


INDEX. 


Domus  Corneliae  Tauri  f  .Taxi,  504. 

L.  Cornelii  Pusionis,  501. 

Doraitiana,  315. 

—  Cri.  Domitii  Calvini,  314. 
Fabiae  Paulinae,  456. 

—  Flavia,  143,  148-157. 

—  Flavii  Sabini,  504. 
T.  Flavii  Tiberiani,  461. 

—  M.  Fulvii  Flacci,  134. 

—  Gaiana,  147. 

—  Gelotiana,  159. 

Geminiae  Bassae,  461. 

—  Germaniei,  135-137. 

—  Hortensii,  135. 

—  SS.  lohannis  et  Pauli,  443. 
Lamiarura,  466. 

—  Lateranorum,  442. 
M.  Licinii  Crassi,  134. 

Liviae,  135-137,  146. 

—  M.  Livii  Drusi,  134. 

—  Q.  Lutati  Catuli,  134. 
Mamurrae,  442. 

M.  Manlii  Capitolini,  296. 

Martialis,  503. 

—  M.  Messalae  Corvini,  483. 

—  Q.  Munatii  Celsi,  461. 
Naeratii  Cerealis,  461. 

L.  Naevii  dementis,  461. 

Narcissi,  504. 

Numae,  315. 

Numiorum,  504. 

Octavii,  315. 

L.  Octavii  Felicis,  461. 

Petronii  Maximi,  456. 

Pisonum,  442. 

Pompei  in  Carinis,  456. 

-  T.  Pomponii  Attici,  489,  503.  . 

—  T.  Pomponii  Bassi,  503. 

—  Postumiorum,  483. 

-  Publica,  144,  199,  206,  208. 
regis  sacrorum,  210. 

—  septem  Parthorum,  427. 

—  M.  Servilii  Fabiani,  456. 

Severiana,  143.  • 

T.  Sextii  Africani,  483. 

—  C.  Stertinii  Xenophontis,  442. 
Tarquinii  Superbi,  315. 

Tetti  Damionis,  315. 

Tiberiana,  147-148,  159-161. 


Domus  Tulli  Hostilii,  314. 

—  M.  Tullii  Ciceronis,  135. 

—  Q.  Tullii  Ciceronis,  135,  458. 

—  Q.  Valerii  Vegeti,  504. 

Valeriorum  on  the  Caelian,  442. 

Valeriorum  on  the  Velia,  314. 

—  Vedii  Pollionis,  451. 

-  Vespasiani,  503. 

-  Vettii  Agorii  Praetextati,  456. 

-  VulcaciRufini,  504. 
Drainage,  104-109,  270-273,  397. 
Drawings,  9. 

Duodecim  portae,  406. 

Einsiedeln  Itinerary,  7-8. 

Emplecton,  26,  112. 

Emporium,  51,  86-88. 

Epistyle  of  C.  and  L.  Caesar,  199. 

Equi  Tiridatis,  482. 

Equiria,  341. 

Esquiliae,  40,  62,  443,  446. 

Esquiline  hill,  extent,  etc.,  16,  444; 
name,  40 ;  ancient  necropolis, 
445;  streets  and  squares,  446- 
449;  buildings,  449-464,  469-474; 
parks,  464-469. 

Euripus  of  the  Circus  Maximus,  405. 

of  the  thermae  Agrippae,  388. 

Excubitoria,  63. 

Excubitorium  coh.  VII  vigilum,  514. 

Extra  portam  Flumentanam,  52,  341. 

Fagutal,  40,  444. 
Fanum  Orbonae,  313. 
Fasti  consulares,  198,  211. 

triumphales,  211. 

Fauces  Macelli,  460. 

Favissa  in  the  temple  of  Vesta,  201. 

Favissae  on  the  Capitol,  302. 

Ficus  Ruminalis,  129,  231. 

Fig  tree  in  the  Forum,  264,  269. 

Fire  of  Nero,  72. 

Fires,  52-53. 

Fons,  90. 

—  Apollinis,  91. 

—  Camenarum,  90,  432. 

—  Cati,  19,  340. 

—  luturnae,  91. 
Lollianus,  431. 


INDEX. 


527 


Fons  Lupercalis,  91. 
—  Mercurius,  see  Aqua  Mercurii. 

—  Palatinus,  431. 

Fora  of  the  emperors,  72  ff .,  274-290. 
Fornices   Stertinii  in  the  forum  Boa- 

rium,  398. 
Fornix  Calpurnius,  294. 

—  Fabianus,  319. 

at  the  pons  Aemilius,  399. 

Stertinii  in  Circo  Maximo,  405. 

Forum  Magnum  or  Romanum,  18,  62, 
167-273 ;  stages  of  development, 
167-173;  streets,  171-173;  area, 
257-270;  drainage,  270-273. 

Augustum,  276-281. 

Boarium,  18,  59,  393,  395-403. 

Caesaris,  275. 

Cuppedinis,  460. 

Esquiliiium,  445. 

—  Holitorium,  18,  51,  341,  389-392. 

—  lulium  (Caesaris) ,  275. 

—  Martis,  278. 

— r-Nervae,  282-284. 
-Pads,  281. 

-  Palladium  (Nervae),  282. 
Pervium  (Nervae) ,  282. 

—  Piscatorium  (piscarium),  274,  460. 

—  Pistorum,  419. 
Suarium,  478. 

—  Tauri,  468. 

-  Traiani,  73,  284-290. 

—  Transitorium  (Nervae),  282-284. 

—  Vespasiani,  281. 
Fountains,  91. 

Four  Regions,  32,  41-44. 
Fourteen  Regions,  see  Regions  of  Au- 
gustus. 

Frigianum,  511. 
Frontinus  De  Aquis,  92. 
Frontispizio  di  Nerone,  492. 

Gaianum,  515. 
Gallinae  Albae,  486. 
Galluzze,  Le,  463. 
Gates,  see  Portae. 
Genius  Caelimontis,  439. 

—  Populi  Roman! ,  270,  304. 
Geology  of  Campagna,  12-14 ;   of  city 

19. 


radus  Aurelii,  270 

Centum,  295. 

Monetae,  295. 

Graecostadium,  230. 
Graecostasis,  175,  230. 
Graphia  aureae  urbis  Romae,  9. 
Gymnasium,  365. 

Hadrian,  building  activity,  73, 149, 157 ; 

pomerium,  68. 
Hadrianeum.  360. 
Hadrianeum  (Mausoleum),  516. 
Harbor  of  Rome,  87-88. 
Haterii  relief,  6. 
Hecatostylon,  375. 
Hemicycle  behind  Rostra,  221-225. 
Heroon  Romuli,  337. 
Hippodromus,  148,  154-157. 
Horrea,  17,  51,  417. 

—  Agrippiana,  418. 
Aniciana,  418. 

—  Caesaris,  418. 

—  Chartaria,  458. 

—  Galbae,  Galbiana,  418,  419. 

—  Germaniciana,  165,  419. 
Leoniana,  419. 

Lolliana,  419. 

—  Nervae,  418. 
Petroniana,  419. 

Piperataria,  312,  335. 

Postumiana,  419. 

Seiana,  419. 

Sempronia,  419. 

-  Sulpicia,  418. 
Q.  Tinei  Sacerdotis,  419. 

—  Vespasiani,  418. 
Volusiana,  419. 

—  on  the  right  bank,  509. 
Horti,  464-469. 

Aboniani,  513. 

Aciliorum,  66,  481. 

Agrippae,  388. 

Agrippinae,  512,  514. 

—  Antoniani,  513. 
Asiniani,  424. 

—  Caesaris  at  the  porta  Collina,  503. 
Caesaris  in  Reg.  XIV,  512. 

—  Calyclani,  468. 
Cassii,  513. 


528 


INDEX 


Horti  Clodiae,  513. 

—  Domitiae,  512,  516. 

Domitiorum,  482. 

Drusi,  513. 

—  Epaphroditiani,  467. 
Galbae,  513. 

Getae,  512. 

Lamiae  in  Reg.  XIV,  513. 

Lamiani  on  the  Esquiliue,  466. 

Largiani,  476. 

—  Liciniani,  467. 
Lolliani,  469. 

—  Lucullan!,  480. 

Maecenatis,  464. 

Maiani,  466. 

—  Neronis,  512. 

—  Pallantiani,  467. 

Pompei,  482. 

Reguli,  513. 

Sallustiani,  501. 

—  Scapulae,  513. 

Scatoniani,  469. 

Serviliani,  421. 

Sili,  513. 

Spei  veteris,  468. 

Tauriani,  468. 

Torquatiani,  467. 

Variani,  467. 

Vettiani,  469. 

laniculum,  16,  50,  51,  507. 

lanus  Geminus  in  the  Forum,  190. 

in  the  vicus  Tuscus,  257. 

imus,  257. 

medius,  257. 

primus,  257. 

quadrifrons  in  the  Velabrum,  403. 

quadrifrons  in  the  forum  Nervae, 

284. 

—  summus,  257. 

Inclined  way  from  the  Forum  to  the 

Palatine,  218. 
Inscriptions,  1-2. 
Insula,  meaning,  55. 

Aesculapii,  85. 

Lycaonia,  86. 

serpentis  Epidauri,  85. 

Tiberina,  63,  83-86. 

Vitaliana,  456. 


Iseum  et  Serapeum.  358. 
Isis  et  Serapis  (Regio),  60. 

Laconicum,  387. 
Lacus,  90. 

Albanus  (Albano),  13. 

Alsietinus  (Martignano),  13. 

—  Curtius,  169,  267. 
-  Fundani,  485. 

—  Ganymedis,  482. 

luturnae,  169,  180,  214-219. 

—  Nemorensis  (Nemi),  13. 

—  Orphei,  464. 
Promethei,  434. 

Sabatinus  (Bracciano),  11,  12,  13. 

Servilius,  267. 

Lapis  Albanus,  12,  22. 

Gabinus,  12,  23. 

manalis,  433. 

niger,  241-250. 

—  pertusus,  482. 

—  Tiburtinus,  23. 
Later,  24,  28,  31,  52. 
Latiaris  collis,  16. 
Lautolae,  91,  192. 
Lautumiae,  169,  172,  252. 
Lava,  23. 

Lavacrum  Agrippinae,  499. 

Lavatio,  433. 

Library,  see  Bibliotheca. 

Literary  evidence,  1. 

Loretum,  414. 

Lotos  tree  on  the  Volcanal,  173. 

Lucos,  inter  duos,  292,  305. 

Lucus  Egeriae  (Camenarum),  432. 

Fagutalis,  40. 

Feroniae,  345. 

Furrinae,  510. 

—  lunonis  Lucinae,  458. 
Libitinae,  446. 

Petelinus,  341. 

—  Stimulae,  417. 

—  Streniae,  309. 

Virginum  Vestalium,  199,  200. 

Ludi  piscatorii,  509. 

plebei,  364. 

saeculares,  343. 

Tarentini,  343. 

Taurii,  364. 


INDEX. 


529 


Ludus  Dacicus,  334,  451. 

Gallicus,  334. 

Magnus,  334,  450. 

—  Matutinus,  334. 
Lupanarii,  440. 
Lupercal,  34,  130. 
Lupercalia,  34,  39. 

Macellum,  274,  4GO. 
-Liviae,274.  4(50,470. 

Magnum,  441. 

Maeniana,  169,  324. 

—  of  the  Colosseum,  332. 
Magistri  vicorum,  58. 
Malutn  Punicum,  ad,  485. 
Mansuetae,  482. 

Mappa  Aurea,  414. 

Marble,  25,  72. 

Marble  Plan,  see  Capitoline  Plan. 

Marmorata.  88. 

Marrana,  18,  404. 

Marsyas  in  the  Forum.  264,  269. 

Mausoleum  Augusti,  382. 

gentis  Flaviae,  504. 

Hadriaui,  516-520. 

Maxentius,  74,  244. 
Meta  Romuli,  520. 

—  Sudans,  335. 

Mica  Aurea  in  Reg.  XIV,  515. 

on  the  Caelian,  442. 

Miliarium  Aureum,  226. 

Mills  on  the  Janiculum,  103,  509. 

Minervium,  438. 

Mirabilia  Romae,  8. 

Mithraeum  in  Reg.  VII.  477  ;  near  S. 
Clemente,  457  ;  near  the  baths  of 
Constantino,  493  ;  near  the  baths 
of  Diocletian,  493  ;  on  the  Cis- 
pius,  461  ;  on  the  Capitoline,  297. 

Moles  Hadriani,  516. 

Molinae,  509. 

Moneta  OQ  the  Arx,  296. 
—  near  S.  Clemente,  450. 

Mons,  16,  39,  41. 

Augustus,  428. 

—  Aventinus,  16,  48,  412,  427. 
Caeliolus,  428. 

Caelius,  16,  42,  428-443. 

Capitolinus,  16,  43,  291-308. 


Mons  Ceroliensis,  429. 

—  Cispius,  16,  40.  444. 

—  Esquilinus,  16,  40,  444-474. 

—  Oppius,  16,  40,  444. 

—  Palatinus,  15,  56,  129-166. 
Pincius,  475-483. 

Querquetulanus,  428. 

—  Testaceus,  17,  419. 

Vaticanus,  507. 

Montani,  41. 

Monte  dei  Cenci,  367. 

—  Citorio,  17,  379. 

—  Giordano,  17,  65,  370. 
—  Mario,  507. 

-  Testaccio,  17,  69.  419. 
Montes  Vaticani.  507. 
Monumenta  Calpurniorum,  505. 
Monumentum  Ancyranum,  2,  71. 
Argentariorum,  403. 

—  Arruntiorum,  473. 
Domitiorum,  482. 

—  Statiliorum,  473. 
Mucialis  collis,  16. 
Mundus,  34,  38,  39,  166. 
Murciae,  ad,  404. 

Murus  terreus  Carinarum,  40. 
Mutatorium  Caesaris,  434. 

Naumachia  Augusti,  513. 

—  Caesaris,  389. 

—  Caligulae,  384. 

—  Domitiani,  514. 

—  Philippi  Arabis,  514. 
Navale  inferius,  89. 
Navalia,  51,  88. 

Necropolis  on  the  Esquiline.  445. 

on  the  Sacra  via,   168,    187  (see 

also  Sepulchra). 
Nemus  Caesarum,  513. 
Nero,  building  activity,  72,  452. 
Nodinus,  107. 
Notitia,  5. 

Nova  via,  54, 164,  219. 
Nymphaea  tria,  414. 

in  the  horti  Sallustiani,  502. 

Nymphaeum  divi  Alexandri,  463,  464. 

—  aquae  Claudiae,  439. 
lovis,  482. 

in  Reg.  V,  463. 


530 


INDEX. 


Obelisci  mausolei  Augusti,  383. 

—  templi  Isidis,  359. 

Obeliscus   Augusti  in  Circo  Maximo, 
381,  405. 

—  Augusti  in  campo  Martio,  381. 
—  Caligulae  (Vaticanus),  515. 

—  Constantii,  408,  443. 

—  Hadriani,  468. 

—  hortorum  Sallustianorum,  502. 
Neronis,  520. 

October  horse,  41. 

Odeum,  375. 

Officina  marmoraria,  88. 

Officinae  minii,  501. 

Olive  tree  in  the  Forum,  269. 

Opus  albarium,  31. 

incertum,  27. 

latericium,  28-29. 

mixtum,  29. 

—  quadratum,  25-26. 

—  reticulatum,  27-28. 
signinum,  31. 

—  spicatum,  169. 

—  testaceum,  28-29. 
Origin  of  Rome,  32-45. 
Ovile,  346. 

Paedagogium,  159. 
Pagus  Aventinus,  413 

—  laniculensis,  51,  508. 

Montanus,  444. 

Palatine  city,  32-39. 

Palatine  hill,  extent,  etc.,  32-34,  129. 

in  the  regal  period,  129-131. 

during  the  republic,  134-142. 

•  during  the  empire,  142-166. 

earliest  remains,  131-134. 

Palatium,  33,  62,  129. 

Sessorianum,  469. 

Palma  Aurea,  268. 

Palus  Caprae  (Capreae) ,  19,  340. 

Pantheon,  351-358. 

Parks,  see  Horti. 

Paving  of  streets,  55. 

Pedestals  on  the  Comitium,  236-237. 

Peperino,  12,  22. 

Pergula,  55. 

Petronia  amnis,  19,  340. 

Phrygianum,  511. 


Pila  Horatia,  270. 

—  Tiburtina,  489. 
Pincian  hill,  475-483. 
Pinea  Pigna,  363. 
Piscina,  92. 

aquarum  Marciae  Tepulae  luliae, 

497. 

—  domus  Tiberianae,  147. 
domus  Aureae,  453. 

hortorum  Aciliorum,  92,  482. 

hortorum  Sallustianorum,  502. 

Publica,  63,  415. 

thermarum  Diocletiani,  497. 

Pits  in  Comitium  and  Forum,  237. 

Plutei,  222,  263-266. 

Pomerium,  35,  extensions  of,  67-69. 

—  of  the  Palatine  city,  36-37. 

of  the  Servian  city,  48.  • 

Pons  Aelius,  81,  516. 

—  Aemilius,  57,  79,  508. 
Agrippae,  80. 

Antonini,  82. 

Aurelius,  82. 

—  Cestius,  80. 

Fabricius,  80. 

Gratiani,  80. 

Hadriani,  81. 

lanicularis,  82. 

—  in  ripa  Romaea,  83. 

ludaeorum,  80. 

Lapideus,  79. 

Lepidi,  79. 

—  Marmoreus,  83. 
Mulvius,  79. 

Naumacharius,  513. 

Navalis,  89. 

Neronianus,  81. 

Probi,  79,  82. 

—  Ruptus,  82. 

Ruptus  ad  S.  Spiritum,  81. 

S.  Mariae,  79. 

S.  Petri,  81. 

Senator  urn,  79. 

Sublicius,  48,  77. 

Valentinianus,  82. 

Ponte  Molle,  79. 

del  Quattro  Capi,  80. 

Rotto,  79, 

Sant'  Angelo,  81. 


INDEX. 


531 


Ponte  di  S  Bartolommeo,  80. 

Sisto,  82. 

Pontes,  inter  duos,  78,  85. 
Pontifices,  77. 
Porta  Appia,  123. 

Ardeatina,  120. 

Asinaria,  121. 

Aurelia,  120. 

—  Caelemontana,  40. 

—  Capena,  49,  60. 
Carmentalis,  48,  390. 

—  Collina,  49. 

—  Esquilina,  49,  470. 

Flaminia,  120. 

Flumentana,  50. 

—  [extra  portam]  Flumentanam,  52, 

341. 
Foiitinalis,  50,  91. 

—  lanualis,  191. 

Latina,  121. 

Lavernalis,  49. 

—  Maggiore,  122. 

—  Metrovia,  121,  430. 
Mugonia,  37,  111,  166. 

—  Naevia,  49. 

—  Navalis,  89. 

Nomentana,  120. 

Ostiensis,  123. 

Pandana,  302. 

Piriciana,  123. 

—  Pompae,  408. 

Portuensis,  120. 

Praenestina,  122. 

Querquetulana,  50,  430. 

Quirinalis,  49. 

Ratumena,  50. 

Raudusculana,  49. 

Romanula,  37-38,  111,  134 

Salaria,  120. 

—  Salutaris,  49. 

—  Sauqualis,  49. 

S.  Lorenzo,  121. 

S.  Paolo,  123. 

S.  Sebastiano,  123. 

—  Septimiana,  121 

—  Stercoraria,  201,  295. 
Taurina,  468. 

Tiburtina,  120. 

Trigemina,  49. 


Porta  Triumphalis,  346,  378. 

vetus  Palatii,  37. 

Viminalis,  49. 

Portae  belli,  41,  191. 

duodecim,  406. 

geminae,  191. 

—  of  the  city  of  Aurelian,6f>,  120-123. 

of  the  Palatine  city,  37-38,  111. 

of  the  Servian  city,  48-50,  117. 

Porticus,  370. 

Absidata,  460. 

Aemilia,  87. 

Argonautarum,  376,  378. 

—  Boni  Eveutus,  376. 
Claudia,  439. 

on  the  clivus  Capitoliuus,  294. 

Constautini,  478. 

Corinthia,  371. 

Deorum  Consentium,  177. 

Divorum,  363,  378. 

—  Europae,  376. 
- —  Fabaria,  419. 

—  Gypsiani,  478. 

Herculea,  375. 

lovia,  375. 

Liviae,  451. 

Margaritaria,  316. 

—  Maximae,  377,  379. 
Meleagri,  376. 

-  Metelli,  349,  371. 
Miliarensis,  502. 

—  Minuciae,  373,  390. 

ad  Nationes,  375. 

post  Navalia,  89. 

Octavia,  371. 

Octaviae,  349,  372. 

-  Philippi,  348,  376. 
Polae,  477. 

—  Pompei,  374. 
Saeptorum,  384 

thermarum  Traianarnm,  452. 

extra  portam  Trigeminam,  89. 

Vipsania,  376,  477. 

Portunium,  398,  401. 
Portus,  87. 

Licinii,  87. 

lignarius,  87. 

vinarius,  87. 

IloaeiSoii-ioi-,  378. 


532 


INDEX. 


Posterula,  123. 

Pozzi  in  Forum  and  Comitium,  236, 

237. 

Pozzolana,  23. 
Praedia  Galbiana,  418. 
Praefectura  Urbana,  452. 
Prata  Flaminia,  52,  339,  340. 

Mucia,  508. 

Quinctia,  508. 

Primae  Fauces,  447. 
Privata  Hadriani,  422. 

—  Traiani,  420. 

Private  houses,  construction,  52-53, 55. 

in  Reg.  VI,  503. 

in  Reg.  VII,  483. 

on  the  Aventine,  420. 

on  the  Caelian,  441^43. 

on  the  Capitoline,  306. 

—  on  the  Esquiline,  456,  457,  461. 

—  on  the  Palatine,  134-137,  149. 
on  the  Sacra  via,  315. 

under  the  baths  of  Caracalla,  423. 

Pulvinar  amphitheatri  Flavii,  333. 

—  ad  Circum  Maximum,  154,  405. 
Soils,  488. 

Pulvis  Puteolanus,  23. 
Puteal  luturnae,  216. 

Libonis  (Scribonianum),  268. 

on  the  Comitium,  231. 

Putei,  90,  273,  445. 
Puticuli,  446. 
Pyramid  of  Cestius,  420. 
in  Trastevere,  520. 

Quirinal  hill,  extent,  etc.,  16;  name, 
41 ;  streets  and  squares,  484-486 ; 
buildings,  etc.,  486-506. 

Regia,  210-214. 
Regie  Collina,  43. 

—  Esquilina,  43. 
Naumachiae,  514. 

—  Palatina,  43. 

Suburana,  43. 

Regio  I,  428-438. 

II,  428-431,  438-443. 

Ill,  444,  449-457. 

IV,  444,  457-462. 

V,  444.  462-474. 


Regio  VI,  484-506. 

VII,  475^83. 

VIII  and  XI,  393-411. 

XII,  421-427. 

XIII,  415-420. 

XIV,  507-520. 

Regionary  Catalogue,  5-6. 

Regions  of  Augustus,  57-64,  444.  See 
also  Regio  I,  etc. 

Reliefs  as  evidence,  6. 

Remoria,  421. 

Ripa  Veientana,  507. 

Rivus  Herculaneus,  101. 

of  the  aqua  Marcia,  95,  411,  431. 

Roads,  see  Viae. 

Roma  quadrata,  38. 

Rome,  site,  15-19 ;  geology,  19 ;  changes 
in  level,  20-21 ;  name,  33;  hills, 
15-17;  valleys  and  brooks,  18- 
19;  appearance  during  republic, 
52-53;  fire  and  police  service, 
63-64;  sewers,  104-109;  water 
supply,  90-92 ;  stages  in  growth, 
32-G9;  the  Palatine  city,  32-38; 
the  Septimontium,  38-41 ;  the 
city  of  the  Four  Regions,  41-45; 
the  city  of  Servius,  45-57 ;  the 
city  of  the  Fourteen  Regions, 
57-64;  the  city  of  Aurelian,  64- 
69;  during  the  empire,  69-74. 

Rostra,  220-226,  236. 

aedis  d.  luli,  185. 

—  of  the  temple  of  Castor,  182. 
Rupes  Tarpeia,  292. 

Sacellum  Accae  Larentiae,  394. 

Bonae  Deae,  511. 

Carmentae,  390. 

Castoris  et  Pollucis  in  Circo  Ma- 
ximo, 409. 

Corniscarum,  511. 

Deae  Caelestis,  297. 

Deae  Carnae,  439. 

Deae  Febris,  140. 

Deae  Neniae,  491. 

—  Deae  Viriplacae,  140. 
Dei  Fidii,  85. 

Dianae  on  the  Caelian,  439. 

Dianae  in  vico  Patricio,  458. 


INDEX. 


533 


Sacellum  Felicitatis,  304. 

—  Fortunae  Primigeuiae,  304. 
Genii  Caelimontis,  439. 

Genii  populi  Romani,  270,  304. 

—  Hecates,  297. 

Herculis  Cubantis,  511. 

Indulgeutiae,  304. 

lovis  Caelii,  439. 

lovis  Conservatoris,  302. 

lovis  Fagutalis,  40. 

lovis  Victoris,  304. 

—  luventatis,  299. 

—  Larum  Praestitum,  37,  131,  219. 

—  Libertatis,  285. 

Magnae  Matris  in  Circo  Maximo, 

409. 

Martis  et  Herculis,  462. 

Minervae  Captae,  438. 

—  Mutuni  Tutuni,  314. 

Neptuni  in  Circo  Maximo,  409. 

—  Pudicitiae  Patriciae,  398,  490. 
Pudicitiae  Plebeiae,  490. 

—  Quirini,  488. 
Sebazis,  297. 

—  Semonis  Sanci,  85. 

- —  Silvani  on  the  Aventine,  421. 

Silvani  in  the  baths  of  Constan- 

tine,  493. 

—  Silvani  (two)  near  the  baths  of 

Diocletian,  493. 
Silvani  in   the  horti  Aciliorum, 

476. 
Silvani  in  the  horti  Sallustiani, 

493. 

—  Statae  Fortunae,  458. 
Streniae,  309. 

Termini,  299. 

Tiberini,  85. 

Valetudinis,  304. 

• Veiovis  in  arce,  297. 

Veneris  Cloacinae,  198. 

Veneris    Murciae    in    Circo    Ma- 
ximo, 409. 

Veneris  on  the  Palatine,  140. 

Veneris  Victricis,  304. 

Vicae  Potae,  314. 

—  Volupiae,  394. 

Sacer  clivus,  see  Clivus  Sacer. 
Sacraria  Argeorum,  43. 


Sacrarium  Martis,  210. 

—  Opis  Consivae,  210. 
Sacra  via,  54,  168,  171,  309-316. 
Sacravienses,  41,  315,  459. 
Saepta,  345,  384. 

Salientes,  90. 

Salinae,  86. 

Salutaris  collis,  16. 

Samiarium,  334. 

Saxum  on  the  Aventine,  421, 

—  Tarpeium,  292. 
Scalae  Anulariae,  134. 

Caci,  133. 

Cassi,  414. 

Gemouiae,  252,  295. 

Schola  collegii  Liberi  et  Mercuri  nego- 
tiantium,  516. 

kalatorum  pontificum,  213. 

in  Octaviae  porticu,  373. 

—  Xanthi,  228. 
Scribonianum,  268. 
Secretarium  senatus,  239,  241. 

Tellurense,  452. 

Semita,  55. 

Senaculum  at  the  porta  Capena,  434. 

near  the  temple  of  Bellona,  344. 

on  the  ComUium,  173,  231. 

Septera  domus  Parthorum,  427. 

Septimius  Severus,  building  activity, 
74,  149,  157-159. 

Septimontium,  32,  38-41. 

Septizonium,  74,  157. 

Sepulcra,  66;  in  Reg.  XIV,  520;  out- 
side the  porta  Salaria,  505 ; 
near  the  porta  Flauiinia,  482; 
near  the  porta  Ostiensis,  420: 
near  the  porta  Praenestma,473; 
on  the  Esquiiine,  445;  on  the 
via  Appia,  435  ff . 

Sepulcrum  Antinoi,  468. 

Antoninorum,  516. 

Arruntiorum,  473. 

gentis  Beninae,  483. 

Bibuli,  482. 

P.  Aelii  Guttae  Calpurnii,  483 

Calpurniorum,  505. 

Cestii,  420. 

Corneliae  Vatieui,  505. 

Eurysacis,  474. 


INDEX. 


Sepulcrum  Faustuli,  248. 

—  Flaviorum,  504. 
Galbae,  418. 

—  gentis  Galloniae,  483. 

Q.  Haterii,  505. 

Horatiae,  436. 

Octaviae  Appii,  505. 

—  L.  Nonii  Asprenatis,  483. 

Romuli  on  the  Comitium,  249. 

Romuli  in  Reg.  XIV,  520. 

Rusticeliornm,  420. 

Scipionis  Africani,  520. 

Scipionum,  435. 

Semproniorum,  505. 

Q.  Sulpicii  Maximi,  505. 

—  C.  Sulpicii  Platorini,  516. 

Statiliorum,  473. 

Serapeum,  358. 

Servian  city,  32,  45-57. 

Servian  wall,  45^8,  51,  58, 112-117. 

Sessorium,  445,  469. 

Sette  Sale,  453. 

Sewers,  104-109,  270-273,  397. 

Shops  in  Reg.  XIV,  509. 

in  the  Subura,  457. 

on  the  Sacra  via,  315. 

Sibylline  books,  302. 

Sibyls  (tria  Fata)  at  the  Rostra,  268. 

Sicininum,  461. 

Silex,  23. 

Singulae  portae,  59. 

Solarium  Augusti,  382. 

horologium,  488. 

Specus,  92. 

Octavianus,  94. 

Spem  veterem,  ad,  93,  462. 
Sperone,  23. 
Spinon,  18,  108. 
Spoliarium,  334. 
Stabula  IV  factionum,  389. 

factionis  prasinae,  389. 

Stadia  of  Caesar,  Augustus,  and  Nero, 

365. 
Stadium  Domitiani,  365. 

Alexandrinum,  365. 

Stagnum  Agrippae,  388. 

Neronis,  325. 

Static  Annonae,  402. 
Aquarum,  219. 


Stationes  municipiorum,  176. 

vigilum,  63. 

Statue  of  Aesculapius,  219. 

—  Apollo  Caelispex,  396. 

Apollo  Sandaliarius,  458. 

Attus  Navius,  231. 

the  bronze  Bull,  395. 

—  Cloelia  (Valeria),  138,  324. 
Constantino,  262. 

Domitian,  261. 

—  Elephas  Herbarius,  396. 

Hercules  on  the  Capitol,  304. 

Hercules  Olivarius,  396. 

Julius  Caesar,  86. 

Jupiter  on  the  Capitol,  304. 

Liber,  304. 

Q.  Marcius  Tremulus,  260. 

Mamurius,  485. 

Marcus  Aurelius,  305,  443. 

Marsyas,  264,  269. 

Mercurius  Sobrius,  459. 

—  L.  Minucius  Augurinus,  88. 
Pollentia,  405. 

—  Romulus,  324. 

—  Titus  Tatius,  324. 

—  Veiovis,  305. 

Vortumnus,  173. 

Statues  in  the  Forum,  258. 

in  the  forum  Augusti,  280. 

in  the  forum  Nervae,  284. 

in  the  forum  Traiani,  286. 

—  on  the  Capitol,  304. 

Steps  to  the  Palatine,  134,  161,  171. 

through  the  Tabularium,  176, 308. 

Streets  in  the  Forum,  171-173. 

in  the  campus  Martius,  342. 

of  the  Servian  city,  54. 

•  on  the  Aventine,  413-415. 

on  the  Caelian,  429-431. 

on  the  Esquiline,  446-449. 

on    the    Quirinal    and    Viminal, 

484-486. 

Streets,  see  Clivus,  Via,  Vicus. 
Structura  caementicia,  26-27,  30-31. 
Stucco,  31. 

Subsellia  tribunorum,  232. 
Substructures  of  clivus  Capitolinus, 

226. 
Subura,  18,  40,  54,  447. 


INDEX. 


535 


Suburanenses,  41,  459. 
Sucusa,  40,  428. 
Sulla's  dictatorship,  57. 

pomerium,  67. 

Summa  Sacra  via,  33,  309. 
Summoenia,  441. 
Summum  Choragium,  334,  450. 
Surveys  of  Agrippa  and  Vespasian, 
2,  59. 

Tabernae,  168. 

argeutariae,  169. 

novae,  169. 

—  veteres,  169. 
Tabernola,  431. 
Tabula  Valeria,  232. 
Tabulae  lus'oriae,  194. 
Tabulahum,  306. 
Tacitus,  pomerium  line,  36. 
Tarentum,  19,  340 
Tectorium,  31. 

Tegula,  24. 

Temenos  of  Vesta,  199. 

Temples  restored  by  Augustus,  53,  71. 

Templum,  35. 

Templum  (aedes)  Aesculapii,  84. 

—  divi  Antonini,  381. 

Antonini  et  Faustinae,  186. 

—  Apollinis  on    the   Palatine,   142, 

144-147. 
Apollinis  outside  the  porta  Car- 

mentalis,  344. 

—  divi  Augusti,  161-164. 

—  Bacchi,  313. 
Bellonae,  343. 

Bellonae  Pulvinensis,  344. 

Bellonae  Rufiliae,  449. 

Bonae  Deae  Subsaxanae,  421. 

Camenarum,  432. 

Castoris  in  circo  Flaminio,  350. 

Castoris,  180. 

Cereris  Liberi  Liberae,  402,  409. 

divi  Claudii,  439. 

in  the  Colonna  gardens,  492. 

Concordiae  in  arce,  297. 

Concordiae  in  the  Forum,  173. 

Concordiae    near    the    porticus 

Liviae,  452. 
Consi,  416. 


Templum   Dianae    on  the   Aventine, 
415. 

—  Dianae  in  circo  Flaminio,  348. 
Dianae  on  the  Esquiline,  449. 

—  Dii  Fidii  on  the  Quirinal,  487. 
Ditis  Patris,  410. 

—  Divorum  in  campo  Martio,  363. 

—  Divorum  in  Palatio,  161. 

—  Eventus  Boni,  376. 
Fauni,  85. 

—  Febris,  490. 

Felicitatis  in  the  Comitium,  229. 

Felicitatis     in     the     theatre     of 

Pompeius,  367. 

—  Felicitatis  in  the  Velabrum,  394. 
Feroniae,  345. 

—  Fidei  on  the  Capitoline,  302. 
Fidei  on  the  Palatine,  140 

Florae  near  the  Circus  Maximus, 

410. 
Florae  on  the  Quirinal,  489. 

—  Fontis,  346. 

—  Fortis  Fortunae  at  the  first  and 

sixth  milestones  of  via  Portueu- 
sis,  510. 
Fortunae,  398,  401. 

—  Fortunae  Equestris,  348. 

—  Fortunae  Huiusce  Diei,  140. 
Fortunae  Huiusce  Diei  in  campo 

Martio,  349. 
Fortunae  Primigeniae,  490. 

—  Fortunae  Publicae,  490. 

Fortunae    Publicae    populi    Ro- 

mani,  490. 

Fortunae  Reducis,  360. 

Fortunae  Respicientis,  141. 

Fortunae  novum,  476. 

—  gentis  Flaviae,  323,  504. 

—  Hadriani,  360,  378. 
Herculis,  491. 

Herculis  Custodis,  343,  347,  363. 

Herculis  Fundani,  488. 

Herculis  Invicti  (Victoris),  397. 

Herculis  Musarum,  347. 

Herculis  Pompeiani,  398,  402. 

Herculis  Sullani,  462. 

—  Honoris  at  the  porta  Collina,  491. 
Honoris  in  the  theatre  of  Pom- 
peius, 367. 


536 


INDEX. 


Templum  Honoris  et  Virtutis,  433. 

Honoris  et  Virtutis  (Marius),  297. 

lani  in  the  Forum,  41,  190. 

lani    in    the    forum    of    Nerva, 

284. 
lani  near  the  theatre  of  Marcel- 

lus,  390,  392. 

Isidis  in  Reg.  Ill,  449. 

Isidis  et  Serapis,  62,  358. 

Isidis  Patriciae,  463. 

divi  luli,  183. 

lunonis,  349. 

lunonis  Lucinae,  458. 

lunonis  Monetae,  296. 

lunonis  Reginae  on  the  Aventine, 

416. 
lunonis  Reginae  near  the  circus 

Flaminius,  348. 
lunonis  Sospitae  in    the    forum 

Holitorium,  390,  392. 
lunonis  Sospitae  on  the  Palatine, 

140. 

—  lovis  Capitolini,  297-301. 
lovis  Custodis,  302. 

lovis  Dolicheni  in  Reg.  XIV,  511. 

lovis  Dolicheni  on  the  Aventine, 

416. 
lovis  Dolicheni  on  the  Esquiline, 

462. 

lovis  Feretrii,  302. 

lovis  Heliopolitani,  510. 

lovis  in  insula,  see  Veiovis. 

lovis  Libertatis,  416. 

lovis  Propugnatoris,  138. 

lovis  Redupis,  490. 

—  lovis  Statoris,  137,  313. 

lovis  Statoris  in  the  porticus  Oc- 

taviae,  349. 

lovis  Tonantis,  303. 

lovis  Victoris,  138,  142,  146. 

luturnae  in  the  campus  Martius, 

350. 

Tuventatis,  410. 

Larum,  313. 

Larum  Permarinorum,  348. 

Libertatis,  416. 

Lunae,  415. 

Lunae  Noctilucae,  140. 

Magnae  Matris  in  Reg.  XIV,  511. 


Templum  Magnae  Matris  on  the  Pala- 
tine, 139,  142. 

Marii,  463. 

Martis  near  the  circus  Flaminius, 

349. 

Martis  outside  the  porta  Capena, 

432. 

Martis  Ultoris  in  foro  Augusti, 

279,  280. 

Martis  Ultoris  on  the  Capitol,  303. 

—  Matris  Matutae,  398,  401. 
divae  Matidiae,  378. 

-  Mentis,  303. 

Mercurii,  410. 

- —  Minervae  on  the  Aventine,  416. 
Minervae  in  foro  Nervae,  283. 

—  Minervae  in  Reg.  I,  4'J3. 

Minervae  Chalcidicae,  350. 

Minervae  Medicae,  462,  463. 

— ^ —  Neptuni,  346. 

—  Nympharum,  350. 
Opis  in  Capitolio,  303. 

—  Pacis,  60,  282,  457. 

—  Deum  Penatium,  314. 

—  Pietatis  near  the  circus  Flami- 

nius, 350. 
Pietatis  in  the  forum  Holitorium, 

391. 
Portuni,  398,  401. 

—  Quirini,  488. 
Romuli,  130. 

—  divi  Romuli,  337. 
Sacrae  Urbis,  2,  281. 

—  Salutis,  488. 

Salutis  near  the  Circus  Maximus, 

410. 

Saturni,  178. 

Semonis  Sanci,  487. 

Serapis  in  Reg.  VI,  492. 

Solis  Aureliani,  476,  492. 

Solis  et  Lunae,  409. 

—  Solis  Elagabali,  141,  468. 

—  Spei,  390,  392. 

Spei  novum,  476. 

Spei  veteris,  462. 

Summani,  410. 

Telluris,  452,  457. 

Tempestatum,  433. 

Traiani  et  Plotinae,  289. 


INDEX. 


537 


Templum  Veiovis  in  insula,  85. 

Veiovis  inter  duos  lucos,  305. 

Veueris    near  the  Circus   Maxi- 

mus,  410. 
— "•  Veneris  Erycinae  (Capitolinae), 

303. 

Veneris  Erycinae,  490. 

Veneris  Genetricis,  276. 

Veneris    hortorum     Sallustiano- 

rum,  491,  502. 
Veneris  Victricis  in  the  theatre 

of  Pompeius,  366. 
Veneris  et  Romae,  73,  316. 

—  divi  Vespasiani,  176. 
Vestae,  200-204. 

Vestae  on  the  Palatine,  144. 

Victoriae   on  the  Palatine,  138, 

142. 

Virtutis  in  the  theatre  of  Pom- 
peius, 367. 

Volcani,  347. 

Vortumni,  416. 

Terebinthus  Neronis,  520. 

Terme  di  Galluccio,  463. 

Terminal  Stones  of  pomerium,  68-69. 

of  ripae,  76. 

Testa,  24. 

Theatrum  Balbi,  367. 

Lapideum,  Marmoreum,  Pompei, 

3(56. 
—  Marcelli,  368. 

Thermae  Agrippae,  386. 

Alexandrinae,  388. 

Antoninianae  or  Caracallae,  74, 

422-427. 

—  Commodianae,  434. 
Constantinianae,  497. 

—  Decianae,  417. 

—  Diocletiani,  493-497. 
Helenae,  470. 

Nerouianae,  388. 

Severianae,  434. 

Suranae,  417. 

Titianae,  453. 

Traianae,  455. 

Tholus  Cybeles,  313. 

Tiber,  14,  15,  70,  75-77;  inundations, 

75-76  ;     embankments,    76-77  ; 

curatores,  76 ;  ripae,  76. 


Tiberius,  building  activity,  72,  147. 
Tigillum  Sororium,  450. 
Tombs,  see  Sepulcra. 
Torre  di  Mecenate,  492. 

—  Mesa,  492. 

Trajan,  building  activity,  73,  284,  455. 
Trans    Tiberim    (Trastevere) ,   15,  63, 

507-520. 

Travertine,  23,  71. 
Tres  Fortunae,  490. 
Tria  Fata,  268. 
Tribunal  Aurelium,  270. 
praetorium,  2(i8. 

—  principatus  (?),  263. 
Tribus,  41. 
Trigarium,  341. 

Trofei  di  Mario,  403 
Tropaea  Germanici,  304. 

Marii,  304,  463. 

Tubilustnum,  459. 
Tufa,  22. 

Tugurium  Faustuli,  130. 
Tullianum,  91,  251. 
Tumulus  Caesarum,  382. 
Turris  Cartularia,  138. 
Turris  Maecenatiana,  465. 
Mamilia,  459. 

Umbilicus  Romae,  226. 

Urbs,  35,  45. 

Ustrinum  Antoninorum,  380. 

Vallis  Camenarum  (Egeriae) ,  90,  432. 

Murcia  (ad  Murciae),  18,  404. 

Vaticanum,  507. 
Vaticum  (Vatica),  507. 
Vault  construction,  30. 
Velabrum,  18.  56,  393,  394. 
Velia,  15,  33,  129. 

Vespasian,    survey,    2,  59;   building 
activity,  148,281 ;  pomerium,  68. 
Via  Appia,  56,  126,  413,  430. 

—  Ardeatina,  127,  414. 

Asinaria,  126. 

Aurelia,  127. 

Collatina,  128. 

Cornelia,  128. 

Flaminia,  125. 

Fornicata,  342. 


538 


INDEX. 


Via  Gabina,  126. 

laniculensis,  128. 

Labicana,  126. 

Lata,  62,  125,  342,  475. 

Latina,  126. 

Maior,  448. 

Mefulana,  448. 

Nomentaua,  125. 

Nova,  414,  424. 

—  Ostiensis,  127,  413. 
Papalis,  448. 

Portuensis,  127. 

Praenestina,  126. 

—  Recta,  339,  377. 

—  Salaria,  86,  124,  125. 

Tecta  in  the  campus  Martius,  342, 

377. 
Tecta  outside  the  porta  Capeua, 

432. 
Tiburtina,  126. 

—  Triumphalis,  128. 

—  Tusculana,  126. 
Viae,  54,  60,  124-128. 
Viaduct  in  Trastevere,  508. 
Vicus,2,  55,  57. 

Africus,  449. 

—  Apollinis,  165. 

—  Armilustri,  414. 

Camenarum,  431. 

ad  capita  bubula,  143. 

—  Capitis  Afrioae,  430. 
Capitis  Gorgouis,  511. 

Censorius,  86. 

collis  Viminalis,  485. 

Cuprius,  447. 

Drusianus,  430. 

Elephant!  Herbarii,  396. 

—  Fabricii,  431. 

Fortunae  Obsequentis,  431. 

—  Fortunae  Respicientis,  141. 
Frumentarius,  419. 

Herculis  Cubantis,  511. 

Herculis  Olivarii,  397. 

Honoris  et  Virtutis,  431. 

Huiusce  Diei,  140. 

lanus,  257. 

—  Insteius  (Insteianus),  485. 

lugarius,  54, 171,  172. 

lovis  Fagutalis,  448. 


Vicus  laci  Fundani,  485. 

Lougus,  484. 

Loreti  maioris,  414. 

—  Loreti  ininoris,  414. 

ad  Malum  Punicum,  485. 

Pallacinae,  342. 

Patricius,  447. 

—  ad  Pi  rum,  503. 

—  Piscinae  Publicae,  413. 
Platanonis,  414. 

—  portae  Colliuae,  54,  484. 
portae  Naeviae,  414. 

—  portae  Raudusculanae,  413. 

—  Pulverarius,  431. 

—  Sabuci,  449. 

—  Sandaliarius,  448. 
Sceleratus,  447. 

-  Sobrius,  459. 

statuae  Valeriae,  511. 

Sulpicius  citerior  et  ulterior,  431. 

Summi  Choragii,  449. 

Tabernola,  431. 

in  Tellure  (Tellurensis),  452. 

ad  Tonsores,  486. 

ad  Tres  Fortunas,  486. 

Trium  Ararum,  431. 

—  Tuscus,  54,  171,  172. 
Views  of  the  city,  9. 
Villa  Farnesina,  509, 515. 

—  Publica,  345. 

Viminal  hill,  extent,  name,  etc.,  16, 41 ; 
streets,  485 ;  buildings,  486-506. 
Vine  in  the  Forum,  269. 
Vinea  Publica,  422. 
Vivariolum,  473. 
Vivarium,  473. 
Volcanal,  173. 

Wall  of  Aurelian  and  Honorius,  64-66, 
117-120,499. 

of  Leo,  64. 

of  Servius,  112-117. 

of  the  Capitoline,  291. 

of  the  Palatine,  37,  110-111. 

of  Urban,  64. 

Water  works  on  the  Esquilme,  463. 
Wells,  90. 

in  the  Forum,  273. 

Wharf  for  marble,  88. 


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